Quizzy Mondays 2025-26 Week 33: University Challenge Play-Off Quarter-Final 1, Mastermind Semi-Final 3

Hello my friends, and welcome to another Quizzy Monday! Coming up, both UC and Mastermind continue on the final stages of their current series, with only four more episodes of both after tonight. But first, a shout out to our friend Dave Clark, who announced on LAM yesterday that he has been diagnoses with diabetic eye disease, which he had an appointment to discuss further this very morning; I'm sure you'll all join me when I say our thoughts are with him and we wish him all the best. In the meantime, on with tonight's shows, beginning with UC...

 

Manchester, largely fueled on by their captain's virtuoso buzzer showings, reached this stage after beating New College of Oxford and L.S.E., then losing their first QF to Edinburgh, before bouncing back with a 150-120 victory over U.C.L. in their second. They were the same unchanged foursome as those prior occasions:

Ray Power, from Bangkok, studying Film Studies and English Literature

Kirsty Dickson, from Morley Green in Cheshire, studying Medicine

Captain: Kai Madgwick, from Fowey in Cornwall, studying AI and Astrophysics

Rob Faulkner, from Norwich, studying Physics with Astrophysics

 

Sheffield came through the repechage after an opening day defeat to fellow quarter-finalists Warwick, then they also defeated New College and also Strathclyde, and then Darwin in their first QF, but they were defeated by Imperial 160-120 in their second. They were also the same quartet as all those previous outings:

Rhys Lewis, from Haverfordwest, studying Maths

Abdelrahman Elsisi, from Alexandria, Egypt, studying Engineering

Captain: Jacob Price, from Hethersett in Norfolk, studying Astrophysics

Isobel Dobbie, from Haringey in London, studying English Literature

 

Who else but Kai Madgwick opened the scoring for the night, and two bonuses accompanied their first starter; Sheffield responded in kind, but a penalty allowed the Manchester captain to pounce again. The Mancunians also took the first picture round, after which they led 60-15. Sheffield duly took two starters in a row, and went from getting none of the first bonuses to all of the second. But the Manchester captain halted their momentum with the next starter, before Ms Power gave them a second in a row to pull away again. Sheffield did take the music round, and devoured it in short order, which reduced the gap to 90-75.

 

Back came Manchester as their captain pulled them into three figures with a starter and two bonuses. Sheffield responded with two in a row which; only one bonus went with both, but it nonetheless pulled them back to within five points. But the inevitable Manchester captain opened their side's lead further again with two starters in a row and all but one of the esulting bonuses. They also took the second picture round, after which they now led 175-105. And when their captain took yet another starter, that was game over; no bonuses followed, but it didn't matter now. Sheffield did go out with a bit of a flurry, taking three starters, but none of the resulting bonuses killed off any chances of a late fightback. At the gong, Manchester won 185-135.

 

A good contest that was, as the chairman said, a lot closer than the final scores suggest. Well done Manchester, another excellent performance, from their captain especially again, but their teammates all did their bit as well this time; best of luck in the semis! Hard lines to Sheffield, but they've had a great run that they can be most pleased with; thanks very much for playing!

 

The stats: Kai Magdwick was, once again, the best buzzer of the night, with seven starters, taking their series total to 38, while Messrs Elsisi and Price were joint best for Sheffield with three each, the latter ending the series their best buzzer with a total of 25 over six games. On the bonuses, Manchester managed 17 out of 30 and Sheffield 10 out of 27 (with the night's one penalty).

 

Next week's match: Merton vs Darwin in the final quarter-final

 

Mastermind’s third semi-final, with a now-ultra rare all-male line-up, was opened by Ross Taylor, who was answering on the western films of Clint Eastwood; a potential banana skin subject, but he made light work of it, only getting the last question wrong (I think) and scoring a very good 12. He was followed into the chair by Pete Simmonds, who was answering on Hieronymos Bosch; he also had a very good round with only one error (that I noticed), but didn’t quite match Ross’ score, finishing with 11.

 

Next up was Tomas Stevenson, who was answering on the studio albums of Bruce Springsteen; sadly, the questions didn’t fall for him, and he finished with just 4, which all but ruled him out of the running already. Finally, Eric Davis was answering on the late great Cyrille Regis; he duly knocked the round out of the park, getting everything right and topping the half-time scores (pun unintended) with 13.

 

So Tomas returned first for GK, with putting up as good a score as he could his only real achievable objective; he did that, scoring 10 for a perfectly respectable total of 14 and, as Dave C often says, he was still a Mastermind semi-finalist and that can’t be taken away from him. After the end credits, we were given the very sad news that Tomas has since passed away; my deepest condolences to his family and friends.

 

It was going to be a three-way sprint for the finish between the others now though; Pete went first, and put down a big benchmark, scoring an excellent 14 for a great total of 25, which was really going to give Ross and Eric something to think about.

 

Ross would be first to try and top that; it was a close run thing, but he did indeed just about do that, and went one better for good measure, scoring a fantastic 15 for a monstrous total of 27. Which meant Eric was going to have to match that to win, and he’d definitely have to do it as I believed he’d passed in the first round; he gave it a go, but was soon off the pace and wasn’t going to make it. He scored 10, giving him a still very good total of 23, but it did mean Ross was indeed through to the final! Well done him, and best of luck to him in it!

 

And that's it for another week! Thanks as ever for reading; I'll try and keep these final remarks short as I'm running late tonight, but only four more outings to go and, hopefully, if the two finals are on the same day, I'll be able to do an on the day write-up and not have to wait until the next day again. Anyway, I'll definitely be back same time same place next Monday with my write-up, so, see yous then... 

 

Quizzy Mondays 2025-26 Week 32: University Challenge Elimination Quarter-Final 2, Mastermind Semi-Final 2

Hello again my friends, and welcome back to Quizzy Mondays! Yep, back to business as usual this week after our late outing last week, as we really do enter the home straight now; only five more editions of both UC and Mastermind to come after tonight. Let's get on with things then, beginning with UC, and a match-up that, a couple of rounds ago, you'd say would be a bit of a mis-match, but now, maybe not so much; winners stay on, runners-up go home...

 

Darwin College Cambridge defeated two Oxford teams, Green Templeton and Magdalen, in the first two rounds, but came unstuck against Sheffield in their first QF despite a decent late recovery, ultimately being defeated 155-115. They were the same unchanged foursome as those prior occasions:

Lewis Strachan, from North Lanarkshire, studying Parasite Biology

Ruth Ni Mhuircheartaigh, from Cork, studying Education

Captain: Louis Cameron, from London, studying English

Jonathan White, from Buckinghamshire, studying Geography

 

Warwick defeated fellow quarter-finalists Sheffield in the first round and Bristol in the second, but, in their first QF, it was their opponents Imperial who had the late rally as Warwick were defeated 190-105. They were also the same quartet as those three previous games:

Josh Howarth, from St Albans, studying History

Antoni Kluzowski, from Chingford in London, studying English and History

Captain: Chris Levesley, from Derby, studying Maths

Lucy Dennett, from South West London, studying Politics and International Studies

 

Darwin's captain Mr Cameron, their top scorer in the earlier matches, took the first starter of the game, and his side took two of the resulting bonuses. Warwick had a bit of a false start with a penalty, but responded with a starter and bonus pair of their own. Darwin took the next two starters though, including the first picture starter; after the first picture round, they led 60-15. The two sides swapped starters in the second phase, with Warwick faring a bit better on the bonuses, so closing the gap a bit. They also took the music round, but got nothing from the resulting bonuses, thus meaning they trailed 95-65.

 

The Darwin captain duly took two starters in a row, and half the resulting bonuses, which took them into triple figures. A third starter gave them no bonuses, before Warwick got going again with a starter and two bonuses. The Cambridge side took the second picture round; one bonus took their lead to 150-80. Warwick were still in the game though, especially when Darwin lost five on the next starter and they picked up; just one bonus followed though, and when Mr White took the next starter and two bonuses followed, Darwin had one foot over the line. Warwick kept themselves in the game just about with the next starter, but, again, just one bonus went with it, and when Mr Strachan was next to answer correctly, that was game over. There was time for Warwick to go out on a flourish with the last starter of the game. At the gong, Darwin won 175-125.

 

Another good contest between two pretty good and well matched teams, but Darwin were a bit better on the buzzer and were worthy winners in the end. Well done them, and best of luck in the play-offs! Hard lines to Warwick, but they bow out after an excellent series of performances; thanks to them for playing!

 

The stats: Messrs Cameron and Levesley were joint best buzzers of the night, with four each for their respective teams, Mr Levesley thus ending the series his team's best buzzer with 13 over four games. On the bonuses, Darwin managed 14 out of 33 (with one penalty) and Warwick 11 out of 23 (with two penalties).

 

Next week's match: the first play-off; don't know who's playing, but the favoured fixtures for them would probably be Manchester vs Sheffield and Merton vs Darwin.

 

Mastermind’s second semi-final was opened by Diane Howe, who was answering on the late Jeff Buckley; a few passes marred her round, but she otherwise knew her stuff, scoring 9 points. She was followed into the chair by Max Bougeard, who was answering on the managerial career of Rafa Benitez; a good solid round, he edged into the lead with 10.

 

Next up was Matthew Patenall, who was answering on Andy Warhol; he got all bar the last one (I think) and equalled Max’s score of 10. Finally, David Slater was answering on the classic Routemaster bus; he didn’t fare as well, though was unfortunate with a couple of questions where his answer wasn’t precise enough and he couldn’t be more so, and so he finished with 5 points.

 

David thus returned for GK first already all but out of contention; he posted a solid 10 for a respectable total of 15, but that wasn’t really going to be enough to trouble the others you suspected. Diane returned next and, given she’d already passed three times, you fancied she really did need to put a very good total on the board to give Max and Matthew something to think about; she did indeed have a  good round, scoring 11 for a fine total of 20, but another two passes, leaving her with five overall, left the door open for the other two.

 

Max was next; he started well, but then hit a bad run of questions and ran out of steam, scoring 7 to finish with a still respectable total of 17. Which meant Matthew needed 11 to win, though 10 would be enough if he didn’t pass too much; his round, however, was almost the opposite of Max’s, starting off poorly, then gathered a bit of momentum late on, but it wasn’t going to be enough, and he scored 6 for a still fine total of 16. Which meant Diane was through to the final! Well done her, and best of luck there, and thanks to the others for playing.

 

And that's it for another week; thanks as ever for reading. Incidentally, I haven't given up on the idea of writing about other, non-quiz related, things on this blog at some point in the not-too-distant future; keep watching this space in case such pieces ever materialise, I would let you know if they were about to. Anyway, back same time same place next week with my usual write-up, so, see yous then I guess... 

Quizzy Mondays 2025-26 Week 31: University Challenge Qualification Quarter-Final 2, Mastermind Semi-Final 1

Hello my friends, and welcome to another, belated, Quizzy Monday! Yep, here we are for the second Tuesday blog of this season, and hopefully the last, although, given how both quizzes are due to finish on the same day, and the last time the Mastermind final was on the same day as UC, it started at the same time and UC was on late, I'm not optimistic. Anyway, this blog has been delayed long enough, so let's get on with it. Coming up, the first Mastermind semi-final, but first, UC, and we'd know the second semi-finalists for that after last night's match...

 

Sheffield were narrowly beaten by fellow quarter-finalists Warwick in the first round, but have since beaten New College of Oxford, Strathclyde, and in their first quarter-final they beat Darwin 155-115. They were the same unchanged foursome as all those previous matches:

Rhys Lewis, from Haverfordwest, studying Maths

Abdelrahman Elsisi, from Alexandria, Egypt, studying Engineering

Captain: Jacob Price, from Hethersett in Norfolk, studying Astrophysics

Isobel Dobbie, from Haringey in London, studying English Literature

 

Imperial also came through the repechage, losing to Churchill of Cambridge in the first round, but they've since gone on to beat SOAS of London, Southampton, and in their first quarter-final, a late surge saw them beat the afore-mentioned Warwick 190-105. They were also the same quartet as all those previous occasions:

Rahim Dina, from 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

 

Sheffield got off to the better start with the first two correct starters of the game and two thirds of the resulting bonuses. Imperial got off the mark with a starter and pair of bonuses, but the Yorkshire side increased their lead with the first picture round, after which they led 60-20. A couple of successive starters took Imperial to within five points, and a penalty to their opponents allowed them to take a third and with it the lead. Sheffield reawoke with the music round though; after that, they'd retaken the lead 70-65.

 

Imperial immediately took it back though, two further starters and two pairs of bonuses taking them into three figures first. A penalty allowed Sheffield back into the game though, and two bonuses took them back within ten points. The Londoners reincreased their lead with the second picture round though, after which they led 115-90. A very enthusiastic answer of "Blackberries!" from their captain increased that lead further and put them within sight of victory. Another penalty kept Sheffield in the game, but they couldn't capitalise, and when Mr O'Flanagan capped off a strong night with a further two starters, that was game over. Sheffield did get a couple of late starters to deservedly reach three figures, but there was too much for them to do in the remaining time. At the gong, Imperial won 160-120.

 

A good enjoyable contest between two fine teams, well played both of them. Well done Imperial, worthy winners and worthy semi-finalists, best of luck to them there! Hard lines to Sheffield, but they've definitely still got a chance of going through too; best of luck to them in the play-offs!

 

The stats: Mr O'Flanagan was, once again, the best buzzer of the night with, for the second match in a row, EIGHT(!) starters, while Mr Price was best for Sheffield with three. On the bonuses, Sheffield managed 11 out of 19 (with one penalty) and Imperial 15 out of 30 (with three penalties).

 

Next week's match: Darwin vs Warwick in the second eliminator match

 

Mastermind’s first semi-final was opened by Elis Matthews, who was answering on the TV series Fleabag; an early mistake and a pass aside, he got them all right and scored 11. He was followed by Lorna Frankel, who was answering on Michael Faraday; she made no mistakes, and so took an early lead with 13. Next up was Teddy Fogel, who was answering on the presidency of Ronald Reagan; he didn’t fare so well, and finished with 6, which you’d probably say ruled him out of the running already. Finally, Peter Glanvill was answering on British marine invertebrates; he started well, then lost momentum a bit, finishing with 10, but with two passes which left him at a disadvantage going into GK.

 

Teddy returned for that first, and put up a decent score of 10 for a total of 16, a respectable total, but not one that would trouble the others you fancied. Peter’s chances took an early knock when he incurred a third pass, and a few more finished them off you suspected; he scored 11 for a fine total of 21, but, again, you fancied at least one of Elis or Lorna would beat that, especially with the passes as well.

 

Elis stumbled a bit at the start of his round with a run of passes leaving his task a lot harder too; he bounced back well and scored 10, thus equalling Peter’s score of 21 and taking the lead due to fewer passes. Which meant Lorna needed at least 9 to win, though 8 would be enough provided she didn’t pass too often; despite a slight stumble mid-round, she ended up doing more than enough, scoring 10 for a total of 23, which made her the first finalist of the series! Well done her, and thanks to the others for taking part and getting this far.

 

And that's it for another week. Thanks as ever for reading, and apologies again for the extra day's wait for this week's blog; take it up with whoever's clever idea it was for the BBC to have the Friday night FA Cup game (see last week's blog for all the gory details). Back to business as usual next week (I hope), back on Monday night as usual with my usual write-up; so, see yous then I guess...

Quizzy Mondays 2025-26 Week 30: University Challenge Elimination Quarter-Final 1, Mastermind Heat 24

Good evening my friends, and welcome to another Quizzy Monday! And, as I hinted at last week, this will be the last one I cover on the day for a few weeks as, next Monday, Death in Paradise is on BBC1 immediately after UC finishes and (almost) everything gets cleared from my schedule for that, so next week's write-up will be on Tuesday evening instead. Hopefully this will be a one-off but if, as I suspect, the two finals end up on the same day and Mastermind starts at 8 as usual, then that'll probably be a Tuesday blog as well. Anyway, on with tonight's quizzes, and two pretty big milestones for both series, beginning with UC and the first elimination QF...

 

Manchester were narrow winners over New College of Oxford and L.S.E. in the first two rounds, largely thanks to their captain's excellent buzzer performances, but were soundly beaten 195-80 in their first QF. They were the same unchanged foursome as those previous games:

Ray Power, from Bangkok, studying Film Studies and English Literature

Kirsty Dickson, from Morley Green in Cheshire, studying Medicine

Captain: Kai Madgwick, from Fowey in Cornwall, studying AI and Astrophysics

Rob Faulkner, from Norwich, studying Physics with Astrophysics

 

U.C.L. won a high scoring first round match against SOAS and then comfortably defeated Lincoln in the second round, but in their first QF, they were pipped at the post by Merton, who nipped ahead of them on the final starter to defeat them 160-150. They were also the same quartet as those previous occasions:

Zak Lakota-Baldwin, from London, studying Science and Technology Studies

Alice Lee, from Kendal, studying Russian and Post-Soviet Politics

Captain: Michael Doherty, from Derry, studying Optical Communications

Manny Campion-Dye, from Bath, studying Philosophy

 

Manchester's captain Mr Madgwick continued their impressive buzzer showing by taking the first starter and two bonuses followed; U.C.L. only took one of their first set, but a penalty and a pickup gave them the lead. After the first picture round, the Londoners led 40-15. U.C.L. were dominating the buzzers at this stage, but weren't really pressing home their advantage with the bonuses. Manchester took a couple of starters in a row, including the music starter, where Mr Faulkner visibly beat his captain to the buzzer ("Well done for keeping your composure as your captain nearly jumped out the studio!"); after the music bonuses, which they took all of (their captain very excited to know the first two!), they'd cut the gap to 75-55.

 

U.C.L. took a couple of starters to reach three figures, but the bonuses continued not to fall for them, just one of the resulting six. Manchester, in contrast, were faring a bit better with theirs and, after the second picture round, they'd closed the gap to 100-90. Another starter to their captain and a single bonus gave Manchester the lead for the first time since the early stages. But U.C.L. immediately retook it with the next starter and finally got a bonus set they liked, taking two and unluckily missing the third. But back came Manchester as a starter and single bonus levelled the scores, before yet another starter to their captain gave them the lead back and two bonuses put them within sight of victory. And when their skipper took the final starter of the game, that was game over. At the gong, Manchester won 150-120.

 

A good close contest, ultimately Manchester's better bonus performance won them the game. Well done them, and best of luck in the play-offs! Hard lines to U.C.L., but they've had an excellent run and can be pleased with their performances; thanks very much to them for playing!

 

The stats: Mr Madgwick was, once again, the best buzzer of the night, with eight starters, taking their series total thus far to 31, while Mr Doherty was best for U.C.L. with four, though Mr Campion-Dye was their best for the series with a total of 13 over four games. On the bonuses, Manchester managed 13 out of 26 and U.C.L. 9 out of 24, and both sides incurred one penalty each.

 

Next week's match: Sheffield vs Imperial in the second qualifer, followed, we can assume, by Darwin vs Warwick in the second eliminator

 

Mastermind’s final heat was by Milena Malcharek (UC alumnus of a few years ago, as she mentioned in her outro), who led by one point after the first round, and by two after GK to win with 22 points, two ahead of Jacob Roberts (who I think has also been on UC in the past) and Keith Hickling, who both scored 20. Sarah Skelton completed the line-up with 17. First semi-final next week, and I may go back to the longer summaries I did last year, not sure yet, we’ll see when the time comes.

 

And that's it for another week! Thanks as ever for reading; don't forget, next week's blog will be on Tuesday evening thanks to the ever considerate BBC schedulers. I mean, don't get me wrong, the FA Cup should definitely be on free-to-air TV, but next year, could you possibly let ITV have the Friday evening game so that Death in Paradise can be in its usual slot every week? Anyway, as I say, I'll be back next Tuesday with my write-up of next Monday's action, so, see yous then...