Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 23: University Challenge R2M7, Only Connect Quarter-Final 3

Good evening again my friends and welcome back to Quizzy Monday! The last one with a streamlined line-up for a few weeks; regular Mastermind is finally back next week, and then we'll have a full line-up for, I think, five weeks until OC finishes. And even then, we may well get repeats for the rest of UC's run like we did last year. Anyway, on with tonight's procedings, beginning with UC and a very celtic match-up...

 

Cardiff won another such fixture in their first match, beating St Andrews 200-145 in a game that was pretty close until they pulled away late on. They were unchanged from that previous game:

Kyle Gilbert, from Worcester, studying History

Rosalie Tarsala, from Arcadia, California, studying Data Science

Captain: Conor Boyling, from Dartford, studying History and Economics

Henrik Holm, from Manchester, studying Physics

 

Queen's University Belfast won the very first game of the series, winning 240-125 against a pretty good Liverpool team who may have reached the play-offs at St Andrews' expense had it not been for so many penalties. They too were the same quartet as their first game:

Sarah Carlisle, from Ballynahinch in County Down, studying English with Creative Writing

Jason McKillen, from Belfast, studying Artifical Intelligence

Captain: Daniel Rankin, from County Down, studying PPE

Sam Thompson, from Limavady, studying Physics

Like their first match, Queen's got off to a flying start, the only starter in the first phase they didn't get being about Robert Maxwell's ill fated attempt to merge Oxford United and Reading. After the first picture round, they led 80-0. Another two starters and already Queen's had reached three figures and AR gave Cardiff a 'plenty of time'. They did indeed get a quick buzz in on the next starter, but lost five as their answer went on to emerge as part of the question; Queen's pounced, pushed further ahead and, after the music round, led 140-(-5).

Cardiff finally got some positive points on the board, taking two starters in a row, while their opponents were limited to a couple of penalties, including one for what, in all honesty, wasn't an interruption; AR really had just finished talking as Mr McKillen buzzed. He took the next one to recoup the points though and, after the second picture round, led 155-35. Cardiff took a couple more starters and ensured they wouldn't be the third new members of the Sub-50 Club this round, but had still been well beaten this time around. At the gong, Queen's won 180-70.

Another enjoyable contest despite its one-sidedness. Well done Queen's, another solid performance, from Mr Rankin especially, and best of luck in the QFs! Hard lines to Cardiff, but they managed a respectable enough score in the end and, again, we know from the first round that they're a better team than this; thanks very much to them for playing!

The stats: Mr Rankin was, easily, the best buzzer of the night with SEVEN starters, while Mr Boyling was best for Cardiff with three. On the bonuses, Cardiff managed 5 out of 15 (with one penalty) and Queen's 16 out of 30 (with two penalties).

Next week's match: Warwick vs Oriel in the last second round match, which, if Oriel lose, will mean a third series in four where Oxford has been wiped out in the second round! I may decide to expand on this in a seperate blog post at some point.

Only Connect entered its third round with a line-up consisting almost entirely of UC alumni, which reminds me I really need to get around to updating my list of people who’ve been on both at some point, with the Bloomsbury Group, who won two high scoring games against the Tea Totallers and Too Many Cookes to get here unbeaten, playing the Crunchers, who defeated the Uisge Beathas twice but lost to the Introverts en route here.

 

My Dad claims a point on the music question in the first round; the teams were tied on 3-each at the end of that. I don’t think we got anything in the second round, but the Crunchers did; they led 7-3 at the end of a very tricky round.

 

The Crunchers went first on the Walls, and took their time, but eventually worked everything out for a full ten. The Bloomers got a bit stuck on their wall, eventually getting one group, but no more; they got all four connections though, which meant they trailed 17-8 going into Missing Vowels. “If any team can pull this back, they can” I remarked at the start of the round, and they did indeed have a very good round to pull right back, but not quite enough; the Crunchers held on to pull off the upset of the series so far, 20-18 the final score! Well done them, and best of luck in the semis, and many thanks to the Bloomers for taking part!

 

Next week’s match: the Introverts vs the Tea Totallers in the last QF

 

And that's it for another week! Next week, finally back to business as usual with the return of regular Mastermind, and nicely timed that the current rounds of the other two finish together. So, join us again same time same place next Monday for that and possibly more too in the coming week. So, see you again whenever we do...

Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 22: University Challenge R2M6, Only Connect Quarter-Final 2

Good evening again my friends, and welcome back to the still depleted Quizzy Monday! Yep, still no regular Mastermind, another celeb edition tonight, though I believe next week's is the last one, so we can expect the regular series back on February the 3rd. So, as we're again a bit short here, I'll again mention yesterday's Counterpoint, and an amusing incident where all three contenders ended up tied on the same score at the end of the first round! A three-way tie-breaker was asked to determine their answering order for the second round, and all three were way off! But we got the answering order nonetheless. Anyway, that's enough filler; on with normal business, beginning with UC...

 

Christ's College Cambridge beat Exeter College Oxford in their first match, leading throughout, but not pulling away comfortably until near the end, winning 205-110. They were unchanged from that previous game:

Anniko Firman, from The Hague, studying Classics

Brendan Bethlehem, from North London, studying Linguistics

Captain: Oscar Despard, from Dublin, studying Biochemistry

Linus Luu, from Orpington, studying Maths

 

St Edmund Hall Oxford were winners of a close first round match against SOAS, which they won with a well-timed sprint at the end, 195-155 their winning score. They were also the same foursome as before:

Jeffrey Liu, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, studying Politics

Robert Elkington, from Newton Abbot, studying Russian and Linguistics

Captain: Sophia Bursey, from Stroud, studying English

Daisy Pendergast, from Jersey, studying Biochemistry

It was a well matched start with the two sides taking a starter and one bonus each, before Christ's pulled away with three starters in a row, including the first picture starter; after the first picture round, they led 75-15. Another two starters took the Cambridge side into three figures, but a penalty allowed St Edmund Hall back into the game, and they duly took a full bonus set, not waiting for AR to finish the (very long) questions in doing so! They also took the music round; after that, they'd cut the gap to 110-75.

A third starter in a row cut the gap to 20, but Christ's reawoke and took two starters in a row, though only one bonus went with them. St Edmund Hall took the second picture round, but they too got nothing from the bonuses; after that, they trailed 135-100. That was as far as they could get though, as Christ's duly ran away with the final quarter again, taking the remaining starters and the bonuses fell for them again well, giving them a winning margin that, again, belied how close the game was for the most part. At the gong, Christ's won 215-100.

Another enjoyable contest that was, as I said, closer than the final scores suggest. Well done Christ's, another solid victory, and best of luck in the QFs! Hard lines to St Edmund Hall, who were very much in the game until that final quarter, but a respectable performance, thanks for playing!

The stats: Messrs Bethlehem and Despard were joint best buzzers of the night with four each, while Mr Elkington was best for St Edmund Hall with three. On the bonuses, Christ's managed an OK 20 out of 35 (with the night's one penalty) and St Edmund Hall 8 out of 18.

Next week's match: Cardiff vs Queen's Belfast

Only Connect’s second quarter-final was between the Al Frescans, who beat the Midlanders and the Hopsters, but lost to last week’s runners-up the Sprouters in the earlier rounds, and the Four Opinions, who got here undefeated by beating the Bean Farmers and last week’s winners the Cat Cows.

 

I claim the same three points as the Opinions on the first question of the show about losing on purpose (it helped that I was watching the Simpsons episode where Krusty bets on the Generals only yesterday!); my Mum claims the same three as them on the Magna Carta question and I claim another three on the vegetables question. The Opinions led 6-4 at the end of that round. I claim two points on the Joes question on the second round, and another two on the PM’s books question; the Opinions led 8-6 at the end of that.

 

The Frescans went first on the Walls and solved all four sets, but dropped one of the connections, so seven points. The Opinions made no mistake, getting all four sets and connections for a perfect ten, so increasing their lead to 18-13 going into Missing Vowels. And they maintained their advantage in a pretty well matched final round, ultimately winning 24-18. Well done them, and best of luck in the semis, and thanks to the Frescans for playing!

 

Next week’s match: the Bloomsbury Group vs the Crunchers

 

And that's it for another shorter week. As I said, last celeb Mastermind next week, so we'll be back to a full line-up in two weeks' time. We hope. Anyway, thanks as ever for reading; see yous again same time same place next week...

Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 21: University Challenge R2M5, Only Connect Quarter-Final 1

Good evening again my friends, and welcome to the second Quizzy Monday of 2025! Still a strealined line-up due to Mastermind still being in celebrity special mode, so, to pad this out a bit, I'll refer to yesterday's Counterpoint and a really nasty swerve that would've done early 00s UC proud, where a contestant buzzed after hearing 'All the Young Dudes' and answered 'Mott the Hoople', only to find the question was about to swerve and ask who wrote that particular song, David Bowie the answer there. Anyway, enough filler, on with the main event, beginning with UC.

 

Wadham College Oxford won a close contest against St Catharine's of Cambridge, leading througout and eventually winning 180-120. They were unchanged from that previous contest:

Aarav Billore, from San Jose, studying Economics and Management

Arthur Bellamy, from Brentwood, studying English

Captain: Johnny Worden, from Cambridge, studying Mathmatical and Theoretical Physics

Anjali Cheung, from North West London, studying Experimental Psychology 

 

Imperial defeated Manchester a week later, racking up the highest score of the round, and against a decent looking team too; their final total 310-75. They were also unchanged from that contest:

Charlotte Stokes, from Chester, studying Applied Genomics

Mattia Elkouby, from South London, studying Chemistry

Captain: Matthew Spry, from Gateshead, studying Electrochemistry

Jaime Salamanca Camacho, from Madrid, studying Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces 

 

A penalty to Imperial allowed Wadham to take the first starter, but no bonuses followed; a penalty to Wadham allowed Imperial to take the second starter, and all three bonuses followed. And that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the game; Imperial took the next two starters as well and, after the first picture round, led 60-5. Two quickfire starters meant they had already reached three figures and already had a three figure lead. My heart then sank for Mr Billore as, asked for one of the two hosts of the 2002 World Cup, he zigged with South Korea, losing his side's only five points, allowing Mr Spry to zag with Japan. Another full bonus set wolfed down, and Imperial's score just kept climbing; after the music round, they led 175-0.

AR finally told Wadham there was plenty of time left, but it was no use; Imperial took two more perfect houses and their lead was just getting bigger and bigger. After the second picture round, it stood at 290-0. Wadham finally got a second starter on the board and took one of the resulting bonuses, but it proved just a blip as Imperial took the next to break 300 for the second time and then surpass their score from the heat. Wadham did take a third starter and a couple of bonuses to bring them to respectability, but two forgivable penalties meant they, alas, finished on the third lowest score of the BBC era. At the gong, Imperial won 345-25.

Another very one-sided, but enjoyable (and engrossing) contest. Very well done Imperial, an utterly amazing performance that firmly puts them down as favourites for a sixth title going into the QFs; very best of luck to them there! As for Wadham, go back and watch their first match, as that proved they're a capable team who were just utterly overpowered here; thanks very much to them for playing!

The stats: Mr Salamanca Camacho was the best buzzer of the night with six starters (to Mr Spry's five), while Mr Bellamy was best for Wadham with two. On the bonuses, Wadham managed 3 out of 9 (with four forgivable penalties) and Imperial an utterly amazing 38 out of 48(!) (with one penalty).

Next week's match: Christ's vs St Edmund Hall

Only Connect began its quarter-finals with the Cat Cows, who lost to the Four Opinions, but beat the Harmonics twice to get here, and the Sprouters, who came through unbeaten against the Hopsters and the Al Frescans.

 

My Dad claims two points on the Cambridge four picture question in the first round, while my Mum had a borderline acceptable answer to the ‘they discovered the same thing at the same time’ question; the Cows led 6-3 at the end of it. My Dad came close to getting the elements question in the second round, but didn’t quite get the right answer, but I can definitely claim THREE points on the Doctor Who music question; the Cows led 8-6 after that.

 

The Cows went first on the Walls, and got all four groups, but only three connections, so seven points there. The Sprouters did likewise on their wall, so, as you were, the Cows led 15-13 going into Missing Vowels. It was a very even round indeed, but, on the very last clue of the game, the Cows snatched back in front to win 20-19! Well done them, and best of luck in the semis! And thanks to the Sprouters for playing, a fine team.

 

Next week’s match: the Al Frescans vs the Four Opinions

 

And that's it for another week. Thanks once again for reading this still streamlined series; bring on three weeks' time when, I'm guessing, Mastermind will be back to normal and so can this blog be too. Back same time same place next week with another shorter series, so, see you then...