Ramsgate teenager Ronan Higginson has stormed through the finals of Channel 4’s Countdown to be named the champion of the 87th series.
The 17-year-old, dubbed Hurricane Higginson by show hosts, also racked up the highest points tally in any final in the series 40 year history.
The Ursuline College year 12 student made his debut of series 87 of the show in May and has recorded some stunning successes.
His first appearance was against five-game winner Jonathan Seal which Ronan won with 132 points to Seal’s still comparatively impressive 98 points. It was also the highest joint score in a preliminary game under the new 15 round format; a record unbeaten for nine-and-a-half years.
Ronan was only the second octochamp (eight game champ) of the series and can lay claim to equalling a four-year-old record for the highest margin of victory in a game of Countdown He is one of just five players to have scored more than 1,000 points.
In the final, hosted by Colin Murray and Rachel Riley with Susie Dent in Dictionary Corner, Ronan was competing against another octochamp, Cillian McMulkin in what Colin Murray branded “a clash of the titans.”
Ursuline College student Ronan took the title with 150 to 83 points.
Ronan said: “I would like to say how pleased I am to be only the 87th person to win a Countdown Series.
“I’ve wanted to appear on the show for many years and I’m glad that those many years went towards a lot of practice that paid off as much as I could ever have hoped it would.
“Many thanks to everybody who’s been wishing me luck and congratulating me.”
Ursuline College headteacher Danielle Lancefield said: “We are incredibly proud of Ronan here at Ursuline. Ronan is the epitome of what it is to be understated. He is kind, generous, caring, incredibly astute and highly intelligent.
“He has taken his phenomenal success and new-found fame all in his stride. There is no doubt about it – he is a credit to himself, his family and his school.”
