wˈɪlz fˈɜːst ɐpˈɪɹd ˌɔn kˈaʊntdaʊn ˌɔn fˈoːɹtiːn dʒˈænjuːˌɛɹi tˈuː θˈaʊzənd tˈuː, wˈɪnɪŋ ˈɔːl ˈeɪt ʌv hɪz hˈiːt ɡˈeɪmz ænd bᵻkˈʌmɪŋ ðə hˈæʃ wˈʌn sˈiːd ʌv hɪz sˈɪɹiz, ɪŋklˈuːdɪŋ ðə hˈaɪɪst ˈɛvɚ skˈoːɹ ɪn twˈɛnti jˈɪɹz ʌv kˈaʊntdaʊn, wˈʌnhˈʌndɹɪd twˈɛnti nˈaɪn, ˌɔn sˈɛvəntˌiːn dʒˈænjuːˌɛɹi.
Wills first appeared on Countdown on 14 January 2002, winning all eight of his heat games and becoming the #1 seed of his series, including the highest ever score in 20 years of Countdown, 129, on 17 January.