A man heard “growling” moments before he was allegedly stabbed by a Countdown champion at a fan club tournament of the TV quiz, a jury has heard.
John Cowen, 31, is said to have to run across a room with a knife in his hand and lunged across a table to attack rival Thomas Carey, a jury heard.
Prosecutor Rosalind Scott Bell said the incident took place on September 14 last year at a gathering of the Focal Countdown Group where former contestants on the Channel 4 TV quiz show and fans meet to play each other.
CCTV footage capturing Cowen as he entered the room at the Wainwright Social Club in Blackpool, Lancashire, shortly after 11.30am was shown to the jury at Preston Crown 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.
“He will describe how he had only been at the Wainwright Club for a short while when he heard growling.”
Cowen was pulled away by others in the room and restrained on the ground before police were called.
Mr Carey 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 court heard.
Mrs Scott Bell said the alleged victim had been a member of the fan club since 2011 and knew Cowen from other Countdown events.
Cowen was not present in court as jurors were told he is “seriously mental unwell” and in hospital.
Judge Guy Mathieson said he had ruled Cowen unfit to stand trial and told the jury it was a fact-finding hearing in which they will be asked to determine whether he did the acts as alleged.
Cowen, from Morecambe, is charged with wounding and two counts of possession of a bladed article in a public place.
He appeared on Countdown in 2017 when he scored the third highest total of the series in which he was a contestant, including spotting the nine-letter word SPREADING.
He competed in a further 11 episodes, winning eight consecutive contests, before he was finally defeated.
Giving evidence, Mr Carey – a former Countdown champion himself – said he heard a “half-growl, half-scream” before he saw Cowen holding a knife.
He said: “He was pushing past people and tables to get towards me.
“He came up to me with the knife and he then stabbed me in the arm. Immediately I grabbed on to his arm and called for help.”
Jurors were told that some of the attendees at the unofficial tournaments – held monthly across the country – used an app to practise the game online.
Jonathan Lally, defending, asked Mr Carey: “Is it right Mr Cowen did say he was not aware of people using that app?”
Mr Carey said: “I don’t recall.”
Mr Lally said: “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.”
