Monday 20 April 2020

University Challenge 2019-20: Grand Final: Corpus Christi vs Imperial

Evening all. Well, here we are at yet another grand final, and I don't think I've ever seen as hotly anticipated a final as tonight's. Maybe it's because there's not much else for people to get excited about at the moment! Or maybe because we were faced with a potentially explosive final fixture, between two teams who got here undefeated and have racked up some mighty scores en route. Winners would be deserving winners, runners-up would still be very worthy finalists.

Corpus Christi College Cambridge began their campaign way back in July with a win over Merton of Oxford; they went on to beat Magdalen of Oxford, Wolfson, Trinity and Durham to reach the final. Hoping to make join their Oxford namesakes on the roll of honour were:
Alexander Russell, from Bristol, studying Japanese Studies
Will Stewart, from Peterborough, studying History of Art  
Captain: Ian Wang, from Sale in Greater Manchester, studying English  
Alex Gunasekera, from Witney, studying Chemistry

Imperial College London started their run by beating Brasenose of Oxford in October; their subsequent wins were over St John's of Oxford, Courtauld, Durham and Trinity. Hoping to join the small list of institutions to win more than two titles were: 
Richard Brooks, from Stockton-on-Tees, studying Mechanical Engineering    
Brandon, from Jamaica, Queens in New York City, studying Computing    
Captain: Caleb Rich, from Lewisham, studying Controlled Quantum Dynamics    
Connor McMeel, from Dublin, studying Computer Science 

Off we set again then, and the final began with a rather long starter that was actually quite easy to guess when it came to the business end; Mr Brooks was first in with 'tea', and the London side started their final push with two correct bonuses. Mr Stewart slipped on the next starter, with his answer subsequently emerging as part of the question; Imperial didn't capitalise, but Mr McMeel took the next starter, and another two bonuses, on fashion and art, were taken. A quick buzz from Brandon moved Imperial further ahead, and they went one better with the bonuses, a full set on experiments on the International Space Station. The first picture round, on maps showing the routes of crusades, went to Imperial; just one bonus came this time, but they already lead 80-(-5).

And they weren't holding up, Mr McMeel took the next starter, and one bonus already took them intro triple figures. Mr Wang finally broke his side into the match with a classic UC starter asking for the number of figures in two paintings; bonuses on pop music were very quickly dispatched, a full set. Brandon quickly killed any momentum in its tracks by identifying O as the initial letter of, among others, the county town of Rutland; bonuses on mathematicians gave the London side a full set of their own, and reestablished their 105 point lead.

The music round, on slow movements of symphonies, went to Corpus Christi; another quickly answered full set reduced their deficit to 125-45. Again, Imperial came straight back, Mr Rich ensuring all four of them had contributed to the match, and a full bonus set on countries with smaller land areas than the UK and totally surrounded by larger nations, gave them another full set. A second starter in a row to the Imperial captain, another full house of bonuses, and the London side had one hand on the trophy. Mr McMeel looked like he was guessing on the next starter, but if he was, it was a correct guess, and one bonus put Imperial within one starter of 200. That starter came thanks to Mr Rich, and two bonuses on time dilation meant Corpus Christi would have to flat out go for it to stand any chance of catching up.

The second picture round, on films in the Top 15 of the Sight & Sound Greatest Films poll, went to Corpus Christi; another promptly dispatched full house took their scores to 210-70. But when Mr Stewart dropped five on the next starter, and Mr Brooks picked up the drop, that really was game over; just one bonus was taken this time, but now they were surely out of sight.

Mr Rich confirmed this for sure by taking the next starter; another sole bonus, on winners of the Prix Goncourt literary prize, was taken, but it didn't really matter now. Mr Stewart pulled one back for Corpus Christi, giving them a bonus set on natural philosophy of which they took two. Another starter from Mr Stewart and another pair of bonuses deservedly took the Cambridge side into triple figures. That was as far as they got, Mr Rich swooping up 'poison ivy' for the next starter, and one bonus on the journalist Kapuscinski being converted. Mr Rich took the final starter of the series, and there was time for two of the bonuses to be answered correctly. At the gong, Imperial won the match, and the series, 275-105.

So, to the trophy presentation, and for the third time in the show's history, we left the studio for it. We crossed to the Andrew Wiles Building at the Oxford University Mathematics Institute, where the eponymous Professor Sir Andrew Wiles joined Paxo and the two teams for a few words, before handing the trophy over to the winning team.

A good final, played well by both teams in spite of the points difference, well done to all of them. Unlucky Corpus Christi, but a very impressive series of performances, and a fine showing in the final despite the result, thanks very much indeed for taking part in the series! Very very very well done Imperial though, another storming performance to cap of a top series of them, very deserving series winners, well done indeed!

The stats: Mr Rich was the best buzzer of the night with six, while Messrs Stewart and Wang were joint best for Corpus Christi with two each, Mr Wang ending the series their best buzzer with 21; Brandon was the best of the series overall, though, with a final tally of 35, beating Mr Hughes of Trinity by one. On the bonuses, Corpus Christi converted 13 out of 15 (with two penalties), while Imperial managed 27 out of 41. Both fine rates and a testament to the quality of these two teams; well played both.

And thanks, once again, to all involved on another great series! Definitely one of the best I've covered on this blog. A fuller review will be published later in the week, along with some buzzer stats. And I still plan to do my Review of the Decade at some point too, so stay tuned for that.

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