Countdown champion stabbed rival at fans' event

A knife-wielding Countdown champion who stabbed a rival player at a fan club tournament "felt cheated" other competitors used an app to practise the game online, a court has heard.

Preston Crown Court heard John Cowen, 31, ran across Wainwright Social Club in Blackpool with a knife and lunged across a table to attack Thomas Carey.

It happened on 14 September 2024 at the Focal Countdown Group event, where ex-contestants were due to play against fans of the Channel 4 show.

Judge Guy Mathieson said he had ruled Cowen unfit to stand trial and told jurors to instead determine the facts of what had happened. They found he had committed assault and had been in possession of a knife in a public place.

CCTV footage capturing Cowen, a Cambridge maths graduate, entering the venue shortly after 11.30 BST was shown in court.

About 30 people were in the club's function room at the time, including Mr Carey.

Mrs Scott Bell said: "The defendant had a knife in his left hand. You can just about make it out, glinting as he walks past the camera.

"He appears to see Mr Carey and he then breaks into a run and he goes straight for him.

"The defendant lunged across the table with his left hand going straight towards Mr Carey.

"Mr Carey was forced back on to the seat behind him and you can just about make out him trying to kick towards the defendant.

"Mr Carey then grabbed the defendant's wrist in an endeavour to stop the assault.

"By then he had been stabbed."

The court heard Cowen was pulled away from Mr Carey by others in the room and restrained on the ground before police were called.

The victim was treated in hospital for a stab wound to his left bicep.

When Cowen was arrested he was searched and found to have another kitchen knife in his pocket, the prosecution said.

Mrs Scott Bell said Mr Carey had been a member of the Countdown fan club since 2011 and knew Cowen from other events.

Giving evidence, he said he heard a "half-growl, half-scream" before he saw Cowen holding a knife.

Jurors were told some of the attendees at the conventions - held monthly across the UK - used an app to practise the game online.

Jonathan Lally, defending, asked Mr Carey: "Can you ever recall that he thought people were using the app and he felt cheated?"

Mr Carey said: "Yes, he said something like that at some point."

Cowen, from Morecambe in Lancashire, was not present in court as jurors were told he was "seriously mental unwell" and in hospital.

He appeared on Countdown in 2017 and scored the third-highest total score during his series.

He competed in a further 11 episodes of the quiz show, winning eight consecutive contests, before being finally defeated.

Cowen's sentencing hearing was adjourned to 30 September pending psychiatric reports.