Evening all. The final preliminary quarter-final tonight, between two teams who have slipped under the radar somewhat compared to some of the other quarter-finalists, but have both played very well to get this far and have deserved to do so. Winners would go on to the qualifiers, while the runners-up would go on to the elimination round, it's really quite simple if you can keep track of it.
Edinburgh have won through two of the best UC matches of the decade (IMO) to get this far, firstly winning a good close first round match against Durham 190-155, and then scraping past Open on a tie-breaker in the second. Hoping not to have to live so dangerously tonight were the unchanged foursome of:
Luke Dale, from York, studying Late Antique, Islamic and Byzantine Studies
Euan Smith, from Aberdeen, studying Classics
Captain: Joe Boyle, from Brighton, studying Ecological and Environmental Science
Emily Goddard, from Wilmslow in Cheshire, studying Chemistry
Birmingham have twice come from behind to win both their matches pretty comfortably, firstly overcoming Queen's of Belfast 165-105 in Round 1, and then St Andrews 195-115 in Round 2. Hoping for more of the same tonight were the also unchanged quartet of:
Elliot Jan-Smith, from Derby, studying Chemistry
Fraser Sutherland, from Edinburgh, studying History
Captain: George Greenlees, from Plymouth, studying Medicine
Chris Rouse, from Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire, studying History and Politics
Off we set again then, and Mr Greenlees, Birmingham's top man in the first two rounds, opened the scoring for the night; two bonuses on early 20th century British politics accompanied, before Mr Rouse gave Birmingham a second starter. A bonus set on the late great Johan Cruyff provided another ten points. A slip-up then allowed Edinburgh to open their account, and take two bonuses of their own. Another Birmingham penalty, albeit an unlucky one for a buzz just before the question finished, allowed Edinburgh to draw level, but they couldn't take the lead. The first picture round, on flags of autonomous Spanish regions, went to Birmingham, who took one and unluckily missed another, giving them a lead of 45-30.
Mr Smith, Edinburgh's main man in the earlier rounds, opened his duck when he took the next starter, but, again, they failed to take any of the accompanying bonuses. This allowed Mr Greenlees to triple Birmingham's lead by taking the next starter, and his side took one bonus on statistics. Mr Smith fought back by identifying a list of works by Frank Lloyd Wright (sadly, Marge Simpson's hair wasn't one of them!); a full bonus set gave Edinburgh the lead for the first time the night.
The music starter saw Mr Smith first in to identify Mr Bruce Springsteen (KIRBY: 'Ah, 'The Boss'!', FRASIER: 'No, Bruce Springsteen!'); the bonuses, on pop tracks inspired by their writer's home towns, saw Edinburgh mistake Tina Turner for the late Bon Scott! They took one other bonus, which put them ahead 80-60. That lead increased when Birmingham, again, buzzed wrongly on the final word of the question, and Edinburgh took the points. One bonus followed, as did a fourth starter in a row, and two bonuses on human muscles. Edinburgh now had exactly double Birmingham's score, but Mr Jan-Smith put a stop to that by taking the next starter; a full bonus set on English words from the Nahuatl/Aztec showed that they weren't out of it yet.
The second picture round, on depictions of Bacchus, went to Birmingham, who took a second full set in a row, which meant they now trailed by just 110-105. Mr Smith tripled that lead by taking the next starter, and Edinburgh promptly took a full bonus set of their own, none of which Paxo was able to finish reading out! Back came Birmingham thanks to Mr Greenlees, and bonuses on mountain ranges gave them two correct answers, and a reduced deficit of ten. Mr Smith doubled it, but Edinburgh got nothing from a bonus set on electronics.
Mr Smith then took a second starter in a row though, and two bonuses put them within sight of victory. Mr Dale pulled them closer, and an amusing bonus set on animals with repeating names, such as the dodo or dik-dik, gave them one correct answer and two amusing (but wrong) guesses on the other two! Edinburgh now had a 55 point lead, and when Mr Smith took the next starter, that was game over. A full bonus set on pastry deserts only served to increase their lead, as did one more starter and bonus. At the gong, Edinburgh won 220-125.
A good match, close most of the way through until the final minutes. Unlucky Birmingham, who aren't done justice by that score, as they were very much in it for the most part, but who certainly aren't finished yet, so good luck in the eliminators. Very well done Edinburgh though; another excellent performance against worthy opponents, and very best of luck in the qualifying round!
Mr Smith was, by far and away, the night's best buzzer, with nine(!) to his name, while Mr Greenlees was, again, Birmingham's best, with four; both men's series totals now stand at 20 each. On the bonuses, Edinburgh converted 18 out of 39, while Birmingham managed 14 out of 21 (with three penalties).
Next week's match: I am reliably informed it is Emmanuel vs Corpus Christi in the first qualifier. A break from the past few years then; no idea where that leaves the rest of the draw, but we shall see.
Only Connect, meanwhile, will be sorted out tomorrow. For sure. Hopefully.
No comments:
Post a Comment