Good evening folks, and welcome back to University Challenge! We're in a perkier mood tonight, enlivened by the good news over the weekend that UC has resumed filming! Presumably, Mastermind and Only Connect will follow too. Brain of Britain already has too, of course; today's show, won by Michael Smith, saw me get two correct answers in a row for possibly the first time! On with tonight's UC...
The University of York (not 'York University', that's in Toronto) has appeared every series bar two since the turn of the Millennium; last year's team were unlucky to draw Magdalen of Oxford in the first round, and then Durham in the play-offs. This year's team were:
Anthony Picton, from Framlingham in Suffolk, studying English
Oscar Ridout, from London, studying Music
Captain: Katie Parsons, from Cheltenham, studying Natural Sciences (specialising in Chemistry)
Josh Walker, from Haverhill in Suffolk, studying History
King's College London has surprisingly only appeared four times before, and hasn't made it beyond the second round. The last two teams, in 2017-18 and 18-19, were unlucky to go out in the first round and play-offs respectively. This year's quartet were:
Simon Xu, from Wallington in London, studying Cardiovascular Science
Louie Triggs, from England and New England, studying Politics, Philosophy and Law
Captain: Sam Jackson, from the Somerset-Wiltshire Border, studying War Studies and History
Grace Weaver, from Bournemouth, studying Medicine
So off we set once more, and it was Mr Triggs who opened the scoring for the night with 'rain', of which we had quite a bit up here over the weekend. The Londoners took two of their first set of bonuses, but then two successive penalties allowed York to take the lead with two successive pick-ups; the Minstermen took just one bonus from both bonus sets. King's got going in the right way again with the first picture round, on positions in netball and the areas of the court they're not allowed in; two bonuses tied the scores at 30-30.
A third penalty gave York the lead back, but they didn't pick up this time. King's recouped the points quickly, and took, again, two correct bonuses. Their next bonus set, on poisons, saw me get a lucky guess of 'strychnine', which I'd just seen used as the murder weapon on an episode of Death in Paradise this afternoon! King's has just one bonus, as did York when they broke back into the game. A second starter in a row and another sole bonus saw the Minstermen draw within five, but King's pulled further forward with the music round, on Motown performers singing in another language; another two bonuses put their lead at 85-60.
Back came York, and a bonus set on record producer Rick Rubin saw them finally break their bonus hoodoo with a full set, pulling them level. A second in a row gave them the lead, but back it came with just one on volcanic eruptions (I got the Philippines). King's fought back with Ms Weaver doing the honours, but answering 'Martin Chizzlewick' to all three bonuses on Dickens got them nowhere. They soon took the lead back though, and also had the second picture round, on winners of the Best Comedy Show at the Edinburgh Festival, during which they revived the classic joke answer of 'Deborah Meaden'! They now led 125-100.
Still anyone's game, but Mr Xu made it advantage King's with the next starter, and two bonuses put them within sight of victory. And when Mr Triggs took the next, that was game over. The final starter cemented their position, though Paxo was maybe a bit lenient to accept 'the Black Sea Coast' for 'the Black Sea Region'; at the gong, King's won 170-100.
Another low scoring but still most enjoyable contest. Well done to King's, and best of luck in the second round! Well played York too, a respectable effort, and they may well have beaten another team.
The stats: Mr Triggs was the best buzzer of the night with five starters, while Mr Picton was best for York with three. On the bonuses, York managed 8 out of 18 and King's 16 out of 32 (with three penalties).
Next week's match: Merton College Oxford vs Wolfson College Cambridge
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