Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 13: University Challenge R1M13, Only Connect Qualification Match 1, Mastermind Heat 11

Good evening again my friends, and welcome back to another Quizzy Monday! Coming up, the qualifier round begins on Only Connect, and the eleventh and tenth heats of Mastermind and Brain of Britain respectively. But first, Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz is getting a mention for the second week in a row; not for any tenuous connection to tonight's UC, but for the most welcome mention of Robot Wars champion Panic Attack! Sadly, no such mention on any of the quizzes tonight, but off we go with them anyway!

 

Beginning, as ever, with UC. The London School of Economics firstly, whose best performance of the Paxo era was in only its second series, where they reached the first of two all-London finals, losing, like U.C.L. last series, to Imperial. Its best performance this century was in the Gail Trimble series of 08-09, where they reached the QFs, losing to eventual (default) champs Manchester; its last appearance was a first round exit two series ago. Playing for them this year were:

Albert Nyang Ying Zhi, from Singapore, studying Maths and Economics

Grant Dalton, from Richmond in Yorkshire, studying Economic Policy for International Development

Captain: Sebastian Bramley, from Esher in Surrey, studying History

Christina Jiang, from Liverpool, studying Philosophy and Economics

Leicester University won the very first series of UC way back in 1963; its best showing of the BBC era thus far has been a QF appearance in 1998-99, the first UC series I ever saw! Its last appearance was also a first round exit, back in the 2020-21 series. They were represented this year by:

Noah Lister, from Southend-on-Sea, studying Economics

Greg Beeden, from Bedford, studying Physics

Captain: George Gowland, from Derby, studying for a PGCE

Edward Owen-Shah, from Leicester, studying History

Mr Dalton gave L.S.E. the best possible start, taking the first two starters, both of which led to a full set of bonuses. A penalty allowed Leicester into the game though, and they took two starters in a row, including the first picture starter; after the first picture round, they'd cut the gap to 45-35. A third starter in a row and a single bonus then gave the Foxes the lead, but L.S.E. quickly took it back, and a run of three further starters saw them pull away into three figures. Leicester did take the music round, but drew a blank on the bonuses, leaving them trailing 110-65.

The two sides swapped starters in the third phase, but Leicester couldn't take any bonuses from either of their resulting sets. L.S.E., on the other hand, picked up points from theirs steadily. They also took the second picture round, after which they led 170-80. It looked game over; just a question of how high a score both teams could get. L.S.E. continued taking starters and accompanying bonuses, very quietly giving us a very solid performance. Leicester just about made it to three figures by taking the final starter of the game, which they definitely deserved. At the gong, L.S.E. won 235-100.

A somewhat one-sided contest, but another enjoyable one; two more very pleasant teams. Well done L.S.E.; as I said, a quietly impressive performance and, with a kind second round draw, they could definitely have a run in this series. Best of luck to them there! Hard lines to Leicester, a decent enough team on the buzzer, but who really struggled with the bonuses; a respectable effort though, thanks for playing!

The stats: Mr Nyang was the best buzzer of the night with five starters, while Mr Lister was best for Leicester with four. On the bonuses, L.S.E. managed an impressive 24 out of 36 (with one penalty) and Leicester just 6 out of 21 (with two penalties).

Next week's match: SOAS vs St Edmund Hall Oxford in the first first round match

Only Connect began its qualifier matches with the returns of the Al Frescans, who comfortably beat the Midlanders in their first match, and the Sprouters, who did similarly well against the Hopsters in theirs.

 

I claim a rare two points on the Rio music question in the first round, and one on the Body picture question; the Sprouters led 7-2 at the end of that. I also claim the same three points as them on the 2010 Labour leadership question in the second round; at the end of that, they’d increased their lead to 13-4.

 

The Frescans thus needed a good performance on the Walls, and they got one; a well worked out full ten. The Sprouters did likewise though, so, as you were, they led 23-14 going into Missing Vowels. The Frescans actually did a bit better in that, but it wasn’t enough to catch up; the Sprouters won 27-19 to take the first place in the QFs! Well done them, and best of luck next time Frescans!

 

Mastermind was opened by Kaushik Bhattacharya, answering on Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories; 7 was his score, about average for the series so far. Rachel Clapp followed him into the chair, answering on Rachmaninoff, and fared better, scoring 9.

 

Next up, Laura Rutherford was answering on the TV series The West Wing, and she went better than both, 11 her very good score. Finally, however, John Harden went and topped it with a perfect round on Red Rum; 13 his impressive total. Even more impressively, the SS scores increasing by two with each contender!

 

Kaushik was probably out of it already at half time, and so it sadly proved as he struggled with his GK round, never gaining much momentum, and so he sadly failed to even beat John’s score, 12 his final total. Rachel was next, but also had a bit of a struggle, with a run of questions in the middle of the round proven costly; she ultimately scored 7 for a respectable final score of 16, but that didn’t look like it’d be a winning score.

 

Laura came next and fared considerably better, doubling her score with another 11; 22 was certainly going to give John something challenging to aim for. He scored steadily, but also picked up some passes, meaning he’d need to score 10 to win outright; it was tight, but he just about made it, another 11 giving him a winning score of 24! Well done him, and thanks to the others, Laura especially who’d have won most of the other heats this series, for an enjoyable contest!

 

Brain of Britain was won easily by Jack Bennett, alumnus of UC, OC and many others; three-way tied with two others at half-time, he ran away with the game in the second half, a lot of his points coming from pickups from others. He finished with 17 points, nine ahead of second placed Jamie Mair with 8. Diane Balne and Charmian Griffiths completed the line-up with 2 and 4 respectively.

 

And that's it for another week. Some very impressive performance this week, by both teams and individuals; well done all, keep it up! Hopefully more of the same next week; see you then, same time same place.

Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 12: University Challenge R1M12, Only Connect Elimination Match 4, Mastermind Heat 10

Good evening again my friends, and welcome back to another Quizzy Monday! Coming up, two very close contests on Mastermind and Brain of Britain and the final OC elimination match. But first, quick mention to the new series of Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz, which this evening featured the question "In what year was marmite invented?", which I knew thanks to a question on a no longer available YouTube video featuring the most successful Paxo era performance of the first team on this week's UC! Ahem. Anyway, on with UC.

 

Leeds are joining us for, surprisingly, the first time in this blog's lifetime, their last appearance being the series before I started it in 2011-12, where they were trounced in the second round; their previously alluded to most successful run was in 2002-03, where a team including Chaser Jenny Ryan and WWTBAM Thirteen Clubber Steve Kidd, reached the semis. Playing for them this year were:

Finn Thompson, from North London, studying Law

Ingrid Banerjee Marvin, from Stoke-on-Trent, studying the Experiences of Marginalised Football Fans

Captain: Alex Tan, from Colchester, studying Computer Science

Jayan Patel, from Leicester, studying Mechatronics and Robotics 

 

Edinburgh is the second most prolific institution of the BBC era, this series being their 23rd; last year, their very strong team were unlucky to lost to eventual semi-finalists Manchester in the second round. This year's line-up comprised of:

David Aiton, from Glasgow, studying Maths

Jess Mellor, from Market Weighton in East Yorkshire, studying History

Captain: Greg Myles, from Monifieth near Dundee, studying Biomedical Engineering

Caitlin Self, from Ashton-under-Lyne, studying Politics

Edinburgh started stronger, taking the first three correct starters of the night and two thirds of the resulting bonuses. Leeds kicked off with the first picture round, two bonuses from which cut the early gap to 55-20. The Scots side continued to dominate in the second phase, taking most of the starters and the majority of bonuses too. After the music round, they led 125-35.

Leeds began an excellent recovery now though, getting a good run of three starters together that pulled them back into contention. Edinburgh reawoke to take the second picture round though, after which they now led 145-80. Leeds were well back in the game now though, and a further run of starters plus a penalty to their opponents meant they had pulled back to within 20 points! That was as close as they got though, as Edinburgh found their buzzer fingers again and took the remaining starters to pull away again. At the gong, Edinburgh on 175-125.

A good contest that, between two very watchable teams as well, well played both of them! Well done Edinburgh, and best of luck in the second round! Hard lines to Leeds, who I sadly fear won't be coming back given that they're now on the sidelines, as it were, of the repechage board, tied with Liverpool and UEA on 125 each; a solid effort though, thanks very much for playing!

The stats: Mr Myles was the best buzzer of the night with five starters, while Mr Thompson was best for Leeds with three. On the bonuses, Leeds managed 10 out of 24 (with one penalty) and Edinburgh 18 out of 28 (with three penalties), and, for the second week in a row, all eight players contributed at least one correct starter to the game.

Next week's match: L.S.E. vs Leicester

Only Connect concluded its elimination round matches with the returns of the Uisge Beathas, who lost to the Crunchers in the first round, and the Third Agers, beaten by the Introverts first time out.

 

I claim the same two points as the Agers on the ‘made up games’ question and one on the yellow things in songs question in the first round; my Dad and I jointly claim one point on the ‘middles of middles’ question and the music question. The Agers led 5-4 at the end of that round. In the second round, we claim the same two points as the Beathas on the years question and worked out the ABCD music question, but couldn’t think of an answer in time; I claim two on the MRNA question. The Beathas now led 12-7 after that.

 

The Agers went first on the Walls, and worked it out fully fairly quickly for a well earned full ten. The Beathas took a bit longer, but the same result, a full house, ten points, so it was as you were, 22-17 going into Missing Vowels. The Beathas only increased their lead on that, doubled it in fact, 32-22 the final score. Well done them, best of luck next time, and thanks Agers for playing.

 

Next week’s match: Al Frescans vs Sprouters in the first qualifier match

 

Mastermind’s tenth heat was opened by Susan Cook, answering on the poetry of Keats; sadly, in keeping with the toughness of the SS rounds this series, the questions didn’t fall for her, 4 her total. Juliet Harvey followed her into the chair, and was answering on PJ Harvey; she fared better, finishing with a steady 9.

 

Next up was Justin Lee, who you’ll remember as part of the Imperial team who are, of course, the reigning UC champions; answering on the Holy Roman emperor Henry IV, he matched Juliet’s score of 9. Finally, we had another UC alumnus, Lewis Jones, captain of the Sheffield team of 2022-23 as well as the Video Nasties from the last series of OC; answering on the films of David Fincher, he too fell foul of some tough questions, many requiring specific knowledge of specific scenes, and finished with 5 points.

 

Susan was first back for GK then, and gave a very good effort, with a few questions where she clearly knew, but just couldn’t drag up the answer; he scored 10 to finish with a fair 14. Lewis came next, and had a very good round indeed, answering quickly and guessing well on ones he didn’t know; a very good 14 gave him a final score of 19, and certainly gave the remaining two contenders something to think about.

 

Juliet gave it a good go, but fell just short; 9 points for a respectable 18, which left Justin needing 11 to win the game. And, despite also answering quickly and guessing well when he didn’t know, he didn’t quite make it, but he didn’t not make it either; he scored 10, leaving him and Lewis tied on 19 and no passes each!

 

So, the first tie-break of the series! Justin and Lewis faced the same five questions each. Justin went first, but only scored 2 out of 5. Lewis scored 4, so it is he who goes through to the semis! Well done him, well deserved after that GK round too, and thanks very much the other three, Justin especially, for taking part.

Brain of Britain also ended in a tie, for the third time this series, with Alan Eeles and Vicky Johnson both finishing with 12 points, with Pam Douglas, part of the Mercians on the last series of OC, unluckily finishing just behind on 11 and Nyasha Zvobgo completing the line-up with 8. It was Vicky who correctly answered the resulting tie-break question to go through to the semis; Alan joins Diane Hallagan and Andrew Fanko on the sidelines of the HSNW board with three heats remaining.

 

And that's it for another week! A pretty good one as well, all four shows providing plenty of excitement! See you again next week, same time same place for more of the same, hopefully.

Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 11: University Challenge R1M11, Only Connect Elimination Match 3, Mastermind Heat 9

Good evening again my friends, and welcome back to another Quizzy Monday! Coming up, a very high quality Only Connect between two teams who it's a real shame ended up in the same bracket of the draw, plus a very strong line-up on Brain of Britain and the next heat of Mastermind. But we start, as ever, with UC, which we're at the business end of the first round of now; both tonight's teams knew 180 or more would bring them back win or lose.

Two institutions who were last with us two series ago tonight. St Andrews, firstly, who were defeated in the second round on that particular occasion; their best showing of the Paxo era was in 2003-04, where they reached the SFs, but their team won the show way back in 1982 and reached the final at least one other time in the ITV era. They were represented this year by:

Diane Buffet-Mogel, from Princeton, New Jersey, studying Classics and Philosophy

George Capell, from Broughton Hackett in Worcestershire, studying Economics

Captain: Freddie Skerrett, from Chislehurst in Kent, studying History

Tom Rosas, from Richmond-upon-Thames (originally Recife in Brazil), studying Physics 

 

Cardiff were also beaten in the second round of that series, unlucky to face the very good Newnham team there. Their joint best runs of the Paxo era came in 1997-98 and 2013-14, reaching the quarter-finals both times. Their team this year consisted of:

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

St Andrews got off to the better start, taking the first two starters and two bonuses each; but Cardiff responded in kind and, after the first picture round, had cut the gap to 40-35. The Welsh side then took the lead, and a further two starters pulled them away into three figures. St Andrews pulled back though with two starters of their own, including the music round; they got none of the bonuses from that though, AR being so jokingly appalled by their answers! (Second time a St Andrews team has failed to identify Otis Redding for a music bonus!) They had, nonetheless, reduced their arrears to 100-70.

A further two starters to St Andrews, and they had suddenly retaken the lead. Cardif reawoke to take the second picture round though; after that, the teams were tied on 135-each! Cardiff blinked first to retake the lead with a starter and single bonus, only for St Andrews to respond in kind and level the scores again! Cardiff crucially took the next starter, followed by two bonuses; St Andrews did the right thing and buzzed early on the next starter, but lost five. Cardiff didn't pick up, but when Mr Boyling took the next starter, you fancied that was game over. At the gong, Cardiff won 200-145.

A good close game between two very good teams, either could've won until the final minutes. Well done Cardiff, and best of luck in the second round! Hard lines to St Andrews, but hopefully their score will be good enough for the play-offs; they currently sit third on the repechage board with three games to go. Thanks for playing for now though!

The stats: Messrs Skerrett, Gilbert, Boyling and Holm were all joint best buzzers of the night with three each for their respective teams. On the bonuses, St Andrews managed 14 out of 24 (with the night's one penalty) and Cardiff 18 out of 31, and, for the first time in eight weeks, all eight players contributed at least one correct starter to the game.

Next week's match: Leeds vs Edinburgh

Only Connect reached its third elimination match and a very promising looking contest between the Pipe-Dreamers, who were beaten by Too Many Cookes in their first match, and the Tea Totallers, who lost that utterly bonkers high scoring first round match against the Bloomsbury Group.

 

My Dad and I claim the first question of the show, though not sure how many points for; I definitely got the anagrams question at the same three-point time the Pipe-Dreamers did. The Totallers led 5-4 at the end of the first round. I also claim the Dave question on the second round (which is out of date now following the recent rebrand!), my Dad got the grace and favour houses, and I think we worked out the ‘dividing by 60’ question before they did. The Totallers now led 11-10 after another high-quality round.

 

On to the Walls, and the Totallers used nearly all of their time to work out theirs, but it was worth it as they secured a well worked out full house. It was the same for the Pipe-Dreamers, but they missed a connection, so seven points. The Totallers thus led 21-17 going into Missing Vowels, but they only increased their lead in that; 31-20 the final scores. Well done them, and best of luck in the next round! Unlucky Pipe-Dreamers, a good team who would certainly have gone further in a different bracket of the draw; an excellent team, thanks for playing!

 

Mastermind was opened by Anthony Smith, who was answering on the emperor Claudius; he continued the series’ current trend of specialist scores being in high single figures, finishing with 8. Kal Dixit was next up, answering on the Watergate scandal; sadly, the questions weren’t to her liking, 3 points her score. Caroline Grogan then answered on the Phantom of the Opera and its sequel; 9 points was a good score, but two passes left her vulnerable. Finally, John Robinson (UC and OC alumnus and winner of £500,000 on WWTBAM) answered on futurism art, and put down a perfect round; 12 questions, all answered correctly!

 

You’d have to say Kal looked pretty much out of it already as she returned first for GK, but she still scored a very respectable 10, giving her a final score of 13. Anthony was next up, and matched Kal’s score, another 10 gave him a score of 18; a good score, but it looked beatable. Caroline would go one better, scoring 11 to give her a good final score of 20, but another three passes, giving her five overall, left John needing a minimum of 8 to win provided he didn’t pass.

 

And he managed and bettered that with time to spare; matching his first round, he doubled his score to 24, putting him through to the semi-finals! Well done him, and thanks to the others for playing.

 

Brain of Britain was another heavyweight contest, but was won very easily by Alan Gibbs (OC winner, Fifteen-to-One finalist, another WWTBAM big winner et al), who scored 5I1R+ABP plus two pickups on the first round and never looked back; 17 points his final winning score. Diane Hallagan (another WWTBAM big winner plus OC and Mastermind among many others) finished second with a good sprint in the final round, though her score of 12 is only enough to, as William G Stewart would say, put her on the sidelines of the highest scoring non-winners board, ie joint fourth with Andrew Fanko. Sanjoy Sen (yet another OC alumnus among others) and Helen Rigby completed the line-up, finishing with 6 and 5 respectively.

 

And that's it for a very high quality week of quizzing indeed! Thanks once again for reading; we'll be back next week, same time same place, only a bit later because the clocks go back on Sunday! So, see you then...