Quizzy Mondays 2025-26 Week 15: University Challenge Repechage Play-Off 1, Only Connect Qualification Match 2, Mastermind Heat 14

Good evening again my friends, and welcome back, at last, to Quizzy Monday! Yep, back to business as usual this week, but, as I said last week, don't be surprised if we have another change of day next month as well. Anyway, coming up, Mastermind and OC as usual, plus the end of an era on Radio 4, but firstly, UC, and a match most peculiar as we had no idea who'd be playing! Well, we knew it would be two of four teams, but not which two. In the end, it was the two London clubs contesting the first repechage play-off match...

 

SOAS were defeated in another London derby, this one against U.C.L., in the first round, keeping pace throughout before just being pipped late on, 210-170 the final score. They were represented by the unchanged team of:

Hatau Mozayen, from Manchester (originally Ethiopia), studying History and Politics

V Davis-Aladren, from Islington, studying PPE

Captain: Andrew Graham, from Cheddington in Buckinghamshire, studying Medical Anthropology and Mental Health

Matthew O'Regan, from Dublin, studying Global Liberal Arts 

 

Imperial were with us only two weeks ago, losing a slow-burner of a match to Churchill, leading for much of the game before their opponents just about got the better of them late on, 175-160 the final score that time. They too were the same foursome as before:

Rahim Dina, from Peterborough (originally the Seychelles), studying Ecology and Evolution

Eugenia Tong, from Hong Kong, studying Chemistry

Captain: Oscar O'Flanagan, from London, studying Atmospheric Physics

Justin Keung, from Hong Kong, studying Computing 

 

Imperial took the first starter of the game, SOAS the second and third, which took them into an early lead. Imperial bounced back with the first picture round, which they took a full house on, after which the teams were level on 35-each. I was pleased to get 'bats' for the next starter before Mr O'Flanagan did; they took two bonuses, but SOAS took the next two starters to take the lead back, with Mr Graham getting brownie points for a joke guess of 'Toxteth O'Grady'! Imperial soon reclaimed the initiative though and, after the music round, they led 95-55.

 

Imperial now had the bit between their teeth and ran away on the buzzer in the third phase; after the second picture round, they led 170-55. SOAS did pull back to respectability in the final straight, taking a couple more starters and a solid haul of bonuses to deservedly reach three figures, but they had been well beaten this time around. At the gong, Imperial won 220-115.

 

A good start to the knockout matches. Well done Imperial, a strong performance against worthy opponents; best of luck to them in the second round! Hard lines to SOAS, a capable team who didn't disgrace themselves at all; thanks to them for playing!

 

The stats: Mr O'Flanagan was the best buzzer of the night with SEVEN(!) starters, while Mr Graham was, again, best for SOAS with four. On the bonuses, SOAS managed 11 out of 21 (with two penalties) and Imperial 21 out of 33 (with one penalty), and, for the first time in quite a few weeks, all eight players got at least one starter correct.

 

Next week's match: Sheffield vs New College

 

Only Connect’s second qualification match saw the returns of the Metrophiles, who defeated the Grapevines in their first match, and the Showstoppers, who were victorious over the 5ks first time around.

 

I claim the same point as the Showstoppers on the Zelda question in the first round (but only because I heard them say ‘ocarina’ for the last clue, which gave it to me!); my Dad and I definitely claim three points on the purple question. The Showstoppers led 5-2 at the end of that round. I claim the same three points as the Metrophiles on the names question in the second round; the Showstoppers led 7-6 after that.

 

The Metrophiles went first on the Walls, and took their time to work out all four groups, but missed one of the connections, so seven points. The Showstoppers worked out two groups quite quickly, but didn’t get the other two in their three tries; they did get all the connections though, so six points, thus meaning the teams were tied on 13-each going into Missing Vowels. The teams couldn’t be separated by that either, and the game ended in a 17-each tie! Mr Evans was first to work out ‘TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT’ and the Metrophiles had the win! Well done them and best of luck in the QFs, and best of luck to the Showstoppers in the play-offs.

 

Next week’s match: the Pitchers vs the Worker Bees

 

Mastermind was narrowly won by Matthew Patenall, whose 19 points saw him just scrape home ahead of Jane Kendrick with 18 and Jonathan Bartley with 17; Savannah Phillips completed the line-up with 12.

 

Also, yesterday saw the final episode of The 3rd Degree. And not just the final episode of the series, but, it seems, the final episode ever, if Mr Punt's monologue at the end is to be believed. Shame; it was a decent enough quiz even if it was never going to capture the public's imagination the same way UC and the other Radio 4 quizzes have. At least it went out on a good episode, with the only student victory of the series.

 

And that's it for this week! Thanks as ever for reading; next week, we do definitely know which teams we'll be seeing on UC, which will help a great deal, as not knowing and having to prep at speed definitely threw me a bit this week. Anyway, back next week, same time same place with my usual write-ups, so, see yous then... 

Quizzy Mondays 2025-26 Week 14: University Challenge R1M14, Only Connect Qualification Match 1, Mastermind Heat 13

Good evening my friends, and welcome to Quizzy... Tuesday? Yep, hope you remembered we're on a different day this week. Despite what I said last week, I'm not changing the blog's title to reflect the change of day. Nor am I going to review Mastermind more fully again, though it was one worthy of a better write-up, so I'm glad I could give it that at least. Anyway, let's do this thing, beginning with UC and the final first round match...

 

Magdalen College Oxford was, for a few years, the most successful institution in UC history, and it still is the second most, with four series wins, in 96-97, 97-98, 03-04 and 10-11, and a second place finish as well in 14-15; tonight is its first appearance for six series, its last team having unluckily drawn and been trounced by Corpus Christi Cambridge in the second round. This year's team were:

Aidan Woo, from Sydney, studying History and Politics

Lily Costa-Ferreira, from South West London, studying Human Sciences

Captain: Benjamin Sharkey, from North London, studying History

Sasha Walker, from Ely, studying Computer Science  

 

Robinson College Cambridge, the youngest college at said university, has appeared four times in the BBC era, reaching the QFs of the first BBC series in 94-95, but not getting beyond the second round in its other three appearances, one of which was a very heavy first round defeat. Playing for them were:

Michael Shipman, from North Yorkshire, studying Natural Science

Jessica Cronin, from Lichfield, studying History

Captain: Eve Temmink, from North London, studying Medicine

Otis Moran, from County Durham, studying Archaeology  

 

Robinson took the first two starters of the night, and half the resulting bonuses, to take an early lead. Magdalen responded with the next two, including the first picture starter, and went one better on the bonuses; after the first picture round, they thus led 40-35. The two teams swapped starters and sole bonuses, but then Robinson incurred a penalty, allowing Magdalen to pull further away and a run of starters took them up to and past three figures. After the music round, the Oxonians led 110-45.

 

And the starters just kept coming from Magdalen, who were rolling back the years somewhat as they ran away with the game, and suddenly their lead had also reached three figures. Robinson finally broke back into the game with the second picture round, which reduced the gap to 180-65. The Cambridge side did take a few more starters in the final straight to reach a respectable three figure score, and you could forgive them a couple of unfortunate penalties as they tried to get in first. Magdalen kept on pushing as well though, and ended up racking up the second highest score of the round. At the gong, Magdalen won 245-105.

 

An enjoyable match to end the round on. Well done Magdalen, who look a pretty good team with all players contributing well, though their bonus conversion may need to improve a touch in a closer match; nonetheless, best of luck in the second round! Hard lines to Robinson, who you fancy would've done better against another opponent; thanks to them for playing!

 

The stats: Ms Walker was the best buzzer of the night with six starters, while Ms Temmink was best for Robinson with four. On the bonuses, Magdalen managed 21 out of 42 and Robinson 10 out of 21 (with three penalties).

 

Next week's match: the first play-off match, featuring two of Sheffield, SOAS, Imperial and New College, with the other two playing the week after

 

Only Connect began its qualification matches with the returns of the Whitley Baes, who defeated the Caraxians in the first match of the series, and Oh No They Didn’t, who beat the Pear Trees next time around.

 

My parents claim two points on the patterns named after Scottish places question in the first round and three points on the five years question; the Baes led 4-2 at the end of that round. I claim the same three points as ONTD on the regnal numbers question in the second round, and we got the Nobel prize winning Curies question between us for two points; the teams were tied on 7-each after that.

 

ONTD went first on the Walls, and worked out two groups, but didn’t get the other two in their three goes; they did get one of the connections for them though, so five points. Similarly, the Baes got two groups, failed to get the other two in their three attempts, but did get one of their connections; five points, so, as you were, a 12-all tie going into Missing Vowels. ONTD fared a bit better on that and won the show 19-14 to become the first team through to the QFs! Well done them, and best of luck to the Baes in the play-offs.

 

Next week’s match: the Metrophiles vs the Showstoppers

 

Mastermind was won by Richard Carr, who led with 11 points after the SS round and just about made it through with a winning total of 20, two ahead of second placed Paddy Moore, who was last with 6 after the first round, but had easily the best GK round of the night to finish with 18. Davina Kesby-Beck and Anjaneya Baput also competed, both finishing with 17.

 

And that's it for this most unusual week! Thanks as ever for reading; back to our usual day next week, but don't be surprised if we get another Quizzy Tuesday after the next international break weekend next month, especially given the way these qualifiers have been playing out so far. Anyway, back on Monday with my usual quiz write-ups, so, see yous then...

Quizzy Mondays 2025-26 Week 13: University Challenge R1M13, Only Connect Elimination Match 12, Mastermind Heat 12

Good evening again my friends, and welcome to the last Quizzy Monday for a couple of weeks. Don't worry, the quizzes are on next week, but they're on Tuesday (the 14th) instead of next Monday (the 13th), as BBC2 is showing Northern Ireland's World Cup qualifier match against Germany on the Monday instead. I'm in two minds whether to change the name of next week's post in reference to the change of day! Anyway, we'll cross that bridge when the time comes; for now, it's business as usual, on with this week's shows, beginning with UC...

 

Imperial College London has a record second to none when it comes to UC, with a record five series wins, including three in the last seven series; last year's team looked like good bets for a sixth until they were somewhat unexpectedly knocked out in the QFs. Playing for them this year were:

Rahim Dina, from Peterborough (originally the Seychelles), studying Ecology and Evolution

Eugenia Tong, from Hong Kong, studying Chemistry

Captain: Oscar O'Flanagan, from London, studying Atmospheric Physics

Justin Keung, from Hong Kong, studying Computing  

 

Churchill College Cambridge won the show during the original era in 1971, but has only made three previous appearances in the BBC era; the first two were second round exits, the third, and most recent before tonight, was a first round exit in 2006-07. They were represented by:

Ella McGovern, from London, studying Medicine

Matt Hasler, from Cambridge, studying Law

Captain: Sam Webber, from Birmingham, studying Chemistry

Shiv Seshan, from Detroit, studying Maths  

 

The two sides shared the first two starters, but only took one bonus of the resulting sets. Imperial then took two starters in a row, including the first picture starter; after the first picture bonuses, they led 45-15. A further two starters went to the London side, but they continued to struggle with the bonuses, only one each from both sets. Churchill took a couple of starters, but they too took just two bonuses. After the music round, Imperial led 80-45.

 

Imperial took another starter to reach three figures, but then lost five to a penalty. Churchill took two starters in a row, did better with the bonuses, two from each set, and were suddenly just ten behind. And then they took the second picture round, after which they narrowly led 100-95. Imperial quickly retook the lead though, and the bonuses finally fell for them, a full set. Churchill took another starter to pull level again though, and then a second in a row and a full set gave them the lead. A third in a row and two bonuses put them on the verge of victory, but Imperial bit back with a starter and three very quick bonuses. Another starter and a single bonus brought the Londoners back within five; next starter would win it! Mr Hasler took it, and that was the gong! Churchill won 175-160!

 

A good contest that started slowly, then gradually got better, leading up to a very close finale! Well done to Churchill, an excellent recovery after struggling at first; best of luck to them in the second round! Hard lines to Imperial, but they'll be back in the repechage and have as good a chance as anyone there; best of luck to them then!

 

The stats: Mr Seshan was the best buzzer of the night with six starters, while Mr O'Flanagan was best for Imperial with four. On the bonuses, Imperial managed 15 out of 30 (with three penalties) and Churchill 15 out of 28, so the two teams got exactly the same number of questions right as each other! It was the penalties that did it for Imperial unfortunately for them.

 

Next week's match: Magdalen Oxford vs Robinson Cambridge

 

Only Connect’s final eliminator match was contested by the Jive Bunnies, who lost to the Sorcerers in their first match, and the Keyboard Worriers, who were beaten by the Doctors Matthews on a tie-break first time around.

 

My Dad claims three points on the things with women’s names question in the first round; I claim the same two points as the Worriers on the line question. They led 5-2 at the end of that round. We jointly claim three points on the compass points question in the second round; the Worriers led 13-4 at the end of that, with the Bunnies unfortunate to just run out of time on a question they knew.

 

They thus needed a good wall, and they got just that, getting all the groups and all the connections for a full ten. The Worriers, in contrast, really struggled with theirs and didn’t get any groups; they did get two of the connections though, but that had closed the scores right up, they now only led 15-14 going into Missing Vowels. The Worriers just about hung on there though, and just made it home 21-19. Well done them, and best of luck next time, and thanks to the Bunnies for playing!

 

Mastermind was won by Peter Glanvill, whose 20 points saw him just beat Matthew McStea with 18; Marcus Welsh and Phyllis Ramage also competed, finishing with 13 and 12 respectively.

 

Also, yesterday’s episode of The 3rd Degree, filmed in Worcester College Oxford, was a very close call indeed, with the Dons beating the Students 31-30 on the final question of the game! Certainly a far cry from the episode filmed in Somerville College Oxford a few years back where the Dons won very easily, though, to be fair, it was probably to be expected given that one of them was Luke Pitcher, who was part of the Somerville team that won UC in 2001-02. Still, the fact that the show treats Oxbridge colleges singularly as well is an underrated argument for UC continuing to do so as well.

 

And that's it for this week! Remember, the quizzes are on Tuesday, not Monday, next week, which also means I might do a full(er) review of Mastermind again for one week only; we'll see how I feel when the time comes. So, we'll see yous then I guess...