Quizzy Mondays 2025-26 Week 16: University Challenge Repechage Play-Off 2, Only Connect Qualification Match 3, Mastermind Heat 15

Hello again my friends, and welcome to another Quizzy Monday! Coming up tonight, the usual Monday night BBC2 suspects, plus a few words on the new show in Radio 4's 'quiz' slot. Well, I say new show, it's actually a repeat of a series from last year; they've been doing that a lot this past year, repeating TWO series of Nature Table in the slot, meaning, for the first time in a long time, we're not getting a series of Brain of Britain beginning this calendar year. Hopefully in the New Year we'll get it. Anyway, on with tonight's shows, beginning with UC...

 

Sheffield were defeated in the first match of the series, losing to a second half fightback from Warwick 210-170. As an alumnus who commented on LAM at the time pointing out, their play-off record has not been good in recent years; hoping to change that were the unchanged foursome of:

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

 

New College Oxford lost another good match against Manchester; as the chairman pointed out, it was them who made the comeback this time, but their's wasn't so successful, as they just lost 170-150. They were also the same quartet as the first time around:

Benji Stimpson, from North Norfolk, studying Conservation Biology

Paige Crawley, from Toronto, studying Lingustics

Captain: Jonah Poulard, from North West London, studying Russian and Linguistics

Daan Timmers, from Utrecht, studying Theoretical Physics

 

Sheffield got off to the much better start, taking the first two starters while their opponents lost five on both. It was third time lucky for New College as they finally got the third starter right, and took all the bonuses to boot. They also took the first picture round, after which they had cut the gap to 40-30. The Oxonians' resurgence continued as they dominated the second phase; Sheffield did get another starter, but also incurred a couple of penalties of their own, one of which also saw a 'wrong person answered' moment. After the music round, New College led 90-45.

 

It was now Sheffield's turn to fight back though, and three starters in a row saw them eke into the lead. They also took the second picture round, which they took a full house on, after which they now led 120-90. A much needed starter and full bonus set took the Oxonians back within five, and a second starter gave them the lead back! Two bonuses followed this time. But back came Sheffield with a starter and two bonuses of their own. New College were in first on the next starter, but no answer came; Sheffield pounced, only took one bonus, but with not much time left, had one foot in the second round. And when the Oxonians lost another five on the next starter and Sheffield picked it up, that was game over. They took the final starter just to be sure though. At the gong, Sheffield won 175-125.

 

A good match between two solid teams, both of whom were prepared to go for it on the buzzer, kudos to them for that. Well played Sheffield, for whom their play-off hoodoo is finally over; best of luck in the second round! Hard lines to New College, but they were a fun team who can go away satisfied with their performances; thanks to them for playing!

 

The stats: Messrs Elsisi and Poulard were the joint best buzzers of the night with four starters each for their respective teams. On the bonuses, Sheffield managed 15 out of 33 (with two penalties) and New College 14 out of 24 (with a damaging five penalties).

 

Next week's match: the first second round match; don't know who's playing yet, but anything I find will be posted/reposted on the site formerly known as Twitter.

 

Only Connect’s third qualification match saw the returns of the Pitchers, who defeated the Benchwarmers in the first round, and the Worker Bees, who were victorious over the Scanners first time around.

 

I claim three points on the first question of the show about the numerical nicknames; the Pitchers led 5-3 at the end of that first round. I claim two points for answering ‘Pea Green Boat’, ie the Owl and the Pussycat, for the boats with decreasing size of crew question in the second round! Kinda surprised that Pope Leo XIV was the answer to the microstates question, as that reveals that the series, or at least this episode, was recorded much later in this year than I’d have thought. The Pitchers led 11-7 after that.

 

The Bees went first on the Walls, and solved theirs in fairly short order for a full ten. The Pitchers also perfected theirs fairly comfortably for another full ten, so as you were, they led 21-17 going into Missing Vowels. They fared considerably better in that, and won the show 30-18. Well done them and best of luck in the QFs, and best of luck to the Bees in the play-offs.

 

Next week’s match: the Doctors Matthews vs the Sorcerers

 

Mastermind was won by Tomas Stevenson, whose score of 17 points saw him win ahead of Terry Edwards with 15 and Rachel Sambrooks and Beth Younge with 13 each.

 

Also, quick mention of the 'new' show in Radio 4’s ‘quiz’ slot yesterday evening, Punt & Dennis: Route Masters. Yep, same Steve Punt both of whose other Radio 4 shows have now been cancelled. But Route Masters, it’s pretty good; he, Hugh Dennis and a celeb guest, usually a comedian, attempt to Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon their way from one subject to another. I enjoy listening to intelligent conversation (it’s why QI’s my favourite panel show), so this is definitely a show that appeals to me. Reminds me of a show I watched on CBBC around 25 years ago(!), Why 5, hosted by Ortis Deley, who later became better known for hosting the Gadget Show, where he did something similar to this. But, yeah, Route Masters, definitely worth a listen.

 

And that's it for this week. Thanks as ever for reading; next week, the second round of UC, my least favourite round of the series, begins. Thankfully this new multi-show format I'm doing here now hopefully won't allow for too much moaning about the format this time. Anyway, back with my usual write-ups same time same place next Monday, so, see yous then... 

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...