Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 31: University Challenge Qualification Quarter-Final 2, Mastermind Semi-Final 1

Good evening again my friends, and welcome once again to another Quizzy Monday! It's time to get deadly serious, with the first Mastermind semi-final coming up later; once again, I recorded and watched it right before UC, thus avoiding having to watch (most of) the chess programme that almost everyone doesn't seem to like. I do have a lot of time for the game of chess, but, from the sounds of it, the show focusses on the players rather than the game and I cannot go along with that if that is the case. So, I'm sticking to these two shows for now. Bring on next season when OC comes back I say! Anyway, on with tonight's procedings...

 

Darwin College Cambridge defeated Birkbeck and Edinburgh in the first two rounds, before really kicking into gear against U.C.L. in their first QF, winning very easily. They were the same foursome as those four previous games:

Rebecca McClelland, from Essex, studying Optical Microscopy

Sophie Willis, from Derby, studying Pathology

Captain: Harrison Whitaker, from Terre Haute, Indiana, studying Film

Rowan Stewart, from Edinburgh, studying Linguistics

Bristol were very comfortable winners over Gonville & Caius of Cambridge in the first round and Exeter in the second, before beating Open in a closer, lower scoring first QF contest. They too were the same quartet as those prior occasions:

Ted Warner, from Wiltshire, studying Biology

Bridie Rogers, from Brighton, studying Medicine

Captain: Kevin Flanagan, from Dublin, studying AI

Olivia Watts, from York, studying Organic Chemistry

Darwin were first off the mark via their imperious captain Mr Whitaker, beginning another productive night, but took just one bonus from their first set. Bristol took the next two starters to take the lead and were unfortunate not to take the first picture starter; Darwin picked up and took the first picture bonuses, which allowed them to cut the gap to 35-30. The Cambridge captain duly took three starters in four, and the side quickly whittled out three full sets of bonuses; Bristol, in contrast, got just one from their sole set. They did take the music round though, and finally got a full set of their own, cutting the gap to 100-75.

 

A further two starters gave Bristol the lead, only for Darwin to quickly retake it with a starter and pair of bonuses. The second picture round went to Bristol, which allowed them to take the lead back again, 125-115. But back came Darwin with a starter and two bonuses. Bristol pulled back level with the next starter, but had the misfortune to get an utterly ridiculous set of bonuses which they got nothing from. A penalty allowed Darwin to retake the lead, but just one bonus kept Bristol in the game. Bristol did indeed take the next starter, but no bonuses left them needing another. They duly got that starter, missed the first bonus, were discussing the second... and that was the gong! A 150-each tie!

 

So, a second tie-breaker in a row! (I do believe the first time we've seen that in the BBC era) Another fairly short and simple tie-breaker question, Mr Whitaker buzzed and answered, AR once againpaused a bit... and then told him he was right and his team had won!

 

Another excellent close contest in a series that is starting to heat up very nicely now. Very well done Darwin, and very best of luck in the semis! Hard lines to Bristol, but they're not out of it yet; best of luck to them in the play-offs!

 

The stats: Mr Whitaker was, once again, the best buzzer of the night with seven starters (plus the tie-breaker), while Mr Warner was, again, best for Bristol with five. On the bonuses, Darwin managed 16 out of 24 (with two penalties) and Bristol 11 out of 29 (with one penalty), so it was largely on the bonuses that Darwin, sort of, won it.

 

Next week's match: a U.C.L. vs Open rematch in the second eliminator.

 

Mastermind’s first semi-final was opened by Ian Grieve, who was answering on The Clash; a strong performance gave him an impressive score of 11. He was followed into the chair by Jane Northen, who was answering on HMS Warrior; another very good round, she scored one better than Ian with 12, but incurred a pass. Next, Robin Dunford was answering on the films of Marilyn Monroe; he didn’t fare as well, scoring 8 and incurring two passes. Finally, John Robinson was answering on Pieter Bruegel the Elder; another excellent round, she topped Jane’s score by one and scored 13.

 

Robin returned for GK first needing a really good performance to stand a realistic chance; he gave it a fine go, scoring a solid 10 for a good total of 18, but a further three passes pretty much ruled him out. Ian was next, and he really gave his fellow contenders something to think about, 13 for a great total of 24. Jane gave a good round too and equalled Ian’s total, scoring 12 for 24, but a further three passes meant Ian remained in front.

 

So John needed 12 to win; he did that and just a little bit more, matching his SS score and scoring 13 for a total of 26 and giving him the first place in the final! Well done him and best of luck in it! And thanks to the others for playing.

 

And that's it, another week done! Quick mention before we go to yesterday's Counterpoint final, won by Sarah Trevarthen, who joins a select group who have won both it and Brain of Britain (Dan Adler another to have done that particular double). Back as usual next week with my usual UC and Mastermind summaries, so, see yous then, same time same place next week...

Quizzy Mondays 2024-25: Week 30: University Challenge Elimination Quarter-Final 1, Mastermind Heat 24

Good evening again friends, and welcome to another, now shorter, Quizzy Monday! Yeah, I still haven't seen any of the new chess programme that now splits Mastermind and UC, and I'm not exactly encouraged to by what I've read of it, so I'm sticking to recording Mastermind and watching it at 8 and then going straight into UC afterwards. Still, not that much longer to go with either now. Anyway, on with tonight's festivities, beginning with UC and the first elimination quarter-final...

 

Imperial, the defending champions, were very easy and dominant winners over Manchester and Wadham of Oxford in the first two rounds, but were narrowly pipped by Christ's in their first QF. They were the same foursome as those three previous games:

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

 

Queen's University Belfast were similarly comfortable winners over Liverpool and Cardiff in the earlier rounds, but were then comfortably beaten themselves by Warwick in their first QF. They too were the same quartet as beforehand:

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

 

Imperial kicked off first with a starter and a full set of bonuses; Queen's followed with a starter and two bonuses, but then took the lead with the next. Imperial bit back with the first picture round, after which they led 45-35. Queen's pulled level with the next starter, but took no bonuses, allowing Imperial to retake the lead with the next starter. Queen's took the next two starters though, and one of the bonus sets gave an amusing moment as their famous joke answer from the first round, 'Les Miserables', was right this time! They also took the music round, after which they led 100-60.

 

Back came Imperial with a starter and single bonus, only for Queen's to increase their lead again. The Londoners finally got a couple of starters together though and pulled back to within five points. They then took the lead with the second picture round, and two bonuses from that meant they led 135-120. Another starter and two bonuses put Imperial in the driving seat, but Queen's now had their turn to fight back and a run of three starters in a row gave them the lead back! Imperial had to take the next starter, did, and took the two bonuses to pull level! And that was the gong! A 170-each tie!

 

So, another tie, the fourth of under AR's watch! A tie-breaker starter was asked. After quite a big pause once it was finished, Mr Rankin was first to buzz and offer an answer. AR then put in an even longer pause... before confirming he was right! Queen's had the win!

 

A top contest that, two excellent teams both of whom would've been worthy winners; kudos to them for going to shake hands at the end, pleased to see this is becoming a more frequent occurance. Well done Queen's, and best of luck in the play-offs! Hard lines to Imperial, who can consider themselves unfortunate to be going out this early, but an excellent series of performance that there's no shame in whatsoever; thanks for playing!

 

The stats: Mr Rankin was the best buzzer of the night with five starters (plus the tie-breaker), while Mr Spry was best for Imperial with four, ending their run their best buzzer with 20 starters over four matches. On the bonuses, Imperial managed 17 out of 27 (with the night's one penalty) and Queen's 14 out of 30, and, for the first time this year, all eight players answered at least one starter correctly.

 

Next week's match: we can assume it will be Darwin vs Bristol, followed by U.C.L. vs Open (again) the week after.

 

Mastermind’s final heat was opened by Rashmi Bhardwaj, who was answering on Audrey Hepburn; a few pauses, but she answered steadily and scored a decent 8. She was followed into the chair by Graeme Donaldson, who was answering on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; another steady scoring round, he just fell sort of Rashmi’s score and finished with 7. Next was Shelley Barnes, who was answering on the DCI Ryan novels of LJ Ross; after an OK start, she hit a run of wrong answers, then recovered with two late on to finish with 5. Finally, Rob Caley was answering on the composer John Barry; he too scored and answered steadily, and ended up just edging into the lead with 9.

Shelley returned for GK first, and gave a respectable round, scoring 8 for a total of 13, not bad, but probably not a winning score. Graeme managed to beat it, scoring 10 for a good total of 17, but a late pass left him vulnerable. Rashmi, again, had a few long pauses, but kept her score ticking over, and ultimately scored 10 as well for a total of 18, leaving Rob needing to match that to win. He started well, then fell into a wrong answer run and incurred a pass as well, meaning he really did need 10; he fell just short, scoring 9 for a total of 18 and one pass, which meant it was Rashmi who took the last place in the semis! Well done her and thanks to the others for playing; semi-finals begin next week!

 

And that's another week done! Thanks once again for reading, and enjoy the longer Mastermind write-ups while you can as I've more or less decided to go back to shorter summaries of that next season and focus my energies on UC and OC. Back next week as usual as Mastermind enters its semi-finals, so, see you then, same time same place...

Quizzy Mondays 2024-25 Week 29: University Challenge Qualification Quarter-Final 1, Mastermind Heat 23

Good evening again my friends, and welcome back to another, now shorter, Quizzy Monday! With Only Connect over, I decided to bridge the half hour gap by not watching Mastermind live at half 7, instead recording it and watching it back half an hour later, allowing me to go straight into UC afterwards! And it worked, reasonably well, so I'll definitely be carrying on with it for the rest of this season. Next season, though, I think I might go back to just giving Mastermind a fleeting mention on this blog and focus my main attentions on UC and OC. Anyway, on with tonight, beginning with the first UC qualifier QF...

 

Christ's College Cambridge defeated Exeter of Oxford and St Edmund Hall of Oxford in the first two rounds, before completing the upset of the series thus far when they narrowly edged out the highly fancied Imperial in their first QF. They were the same foursome as those previous games:

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

Warwick were comfortable winners over UEA and Oriel of Oxford in their first two matches, and, in their first QF, they were similarly convincing against Queen's of Belfast. They were also the same quartet as those prior occasions:

Ananya Govindarajan, from Edgware in London, studying Engineering

Thomas Hart, from Miskin in South Wales, studying Maths

Captain: Oscar Siddle, from Islington, studying Maths

Benjamin Watson, from Amersham, studying PPE

Warwick kicked off first with the first two starters and half the resulting bonuses; Christ's responded in kind to draw level, and then pulled ahead with the first picture round, after which they 55-35. On the Cambridge side pushed with another starter and all three bonuses; Warwick, in contrast, took two starters in a row, but no bonuses from either set. Christ's pushed into three figures with another perfect full house, and also took the music round, after which, they led 115-55.

 

Onwards the Cambridge side went with two starters and pairs of bonuses putting their lead into three figures and further when Warwick lost five for a forgivable early buzz. Another starter and pair of bonuses put the Cambridge side up to 200. Warwick finally got going again with the second picture round, and took one bonus, which left them trailing 200-65. The game looked done, but Warwick put in a late run on the buzzer and the bonuses finally fell better for them. A couple of penalties to Christ's didn't look all that harmless, but Warwick kept pushing, reaching three figures and suddenly were pulling back a lot of lost ground. They'd left themselves just a bit too much to do in the end though, and Christ's made doubly sure by taking the final starter and the one bonus there was time for. At the gong, Christ's won 205-155.

 

An excellent high quality contest that, well played both teams. Very well done Christ's, worthy winners and semi-finalists, best of luck to them there. Bad luck to Warwick, who recovered very well indeed in those final minutes and will certainly go through too if they can play like that throughout their play-off; best of luck to them there!

 

The stats: Mr Bethlehem was, again, the best buzzer of the night with six, while Mr Hart was, again, best for Warwick with four. On the bonuses, Christ's managed 21 out of 34 (with two penalties) and Warwick 12 out of 30 (with one penalty), so it was the bonuses that won the game.

 

Next week's match: Imperial vs Queen's I would imagine, followed, presumably, by Darwin vs Bristol and U.C.L. vs Open for the second time.

 

Mastermind’s penultimate heat was opened by Eddie Crawford, who was answering on Henry II; an up and down round that started well, faded a bit, then recovered well at the end, gave him a score of 6. He was followed into the chair by Kate Bleazard, who was answering on Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple novels; a good round with only two mistakes, she answered well and finished with a very good for this series 9.

 

Next was Nathan Hamer, alumnus of OC back in the BBC4 days (his sister Lauren was on it more recently), who was answering on Wales’ rugby union test matches since 2000; a steady round that he scored well on and never really lost momentum until near the end, he scored 7. Finally, Gary Austin was answering on Friday Night Dinner, a sitcom I’ve never seen, though I did laugh at a few of the questions and answers here! Gary very much knew his stuff, a perfect round and a great score of 12.

 

Eddie returned first for GK and gave us a fantastic round, answering steadily and keeping a good momentum going, he scored a superb 15 for a great total of 21, putting himself well back in the game. Nathan didn’t manage to beat it; he started well and looked on pace, but then hit a run of wrong answers and fell off it, ultimately scoring a still pretty good 11 for a solid total of 18.

 

Kate was next, and she too started strongly before hitting a wrong answer run and falling off the pace, though she was good at coming up with reasonable guesses; she scored 10 for a decent total of 19. It meant Gary needed a double figure score to win; he too started well, but then hit a bad patch and incurred three passes, meaning he really did need 10 points. In the end, he managed exactly that, giving him a total of 22 and winning the game! Well done him, and thanks to the others, Eddie especially for that great GK round, for taking part.

 

And that's this week done! I must say, watching the two shows back to back worked much better than watching them with the half hour gap would've, so, as I said before, I'll definitely be carrying on with it for the rest of this season. Thanks as ever for reading; join us again same time same place next week, see you then...