Quizzy Mondays 2026-27 Week 12: University Challenge R1M12, Only Connect Elimination Match 4, Mastermind Heat 10

Good evening friends, and welcome to another Quizzy Monday! Coming up, what might be a personal best for myself on OC, a high scoring Mastermind and Brain of Britain continues as well. But we begin, as ever, with UC, and a classic Oxford vs Cambridge match-up; with only three matches left including tonight's, both teams knew that a score of 175 or more would bring them back win or lose.

 

Emmanuel College Cambridge has appeared in eight previous BBC series, winning the 2009-10 series under the captaincy of Alex Guttenplan, and reaching the semis a further two times, one of them with our old friend Bobby Seagull leading them into battle. Its run of good runs in the competition was ended in its last appearance three series ago though, when they were narrowly beaten in the second round. Playing for them this series were:

Olga Devine, from Southwest London, studying History

Sam Palmer, from Norwich, studying Maths

Captain: Fin Brickman, from Oxford, studying Maths

Adrija Bhattacharya, from Mumbai, studying Human Inspired AI

 

Somerville College Oxford has, in contrast, only appeared in four previous BBC series, but two of those teams reached the final; the first, in 2001-02 won after probably the best final of the revival, while the second were defeated by the Trinity Cambridge team of Messrs Morley and Drnovzek Zorko in the 2013-14 series, which was also their last appearance on the show before tonight. Playing for them were:

Milton Lee, from Serangoon, Singapore, studying Physics

Zoe McGuire, from Penryn in Cornwall, studying Maths and Computer Science

Captain: Rohan George, from Northwest London, studying Chemistry

Elijah Scheinson, from Charlotte, North Carolina, studying Late Antique and Byzantine Studies  

 

Emmanuel got off to the much better start, taking the first three correct starters of the game while their opponents were restricted to two penalties. They also took the first picture round, the starter of which was a nice throwback to a famous incident from the Paxo era! After that, they led 60-(-10). Somerville finally got some proper points on the board, and took a full set of bonuses to boot. Emmanuel continued to pull away though, though their hit and miss bonus rate meant they weren't pulling away as much as they could've. The music round went to Somerville, after which they trailed 90-30.

 

The Oxonians finally had their feet in the game though, and made an excellent surge in this third quarter, meaning they were soon back within fifteen points. The second picture round went to Emmanuel though; no bonuses came though, but they did still lead 100-75. Another starter took Somerville within five points, but that was as close as they came as Emmanuel rediscovered their buzzing form and started to pull away again. Their run was halted when they buzzed but no answer came; Somerville swooped, but just one bonus followed, and when they lost five on the next starter, that was game over. Emmanuel ran the game out comfortably in the end; at the gong, they won 190-105.

 

A good contest, but Emmanuel's stronger start and finish gave them a worthy victory in the end. Well done them, and best of luck in the second round! Hard lines to Somerville, a capable team who were a bit unlucky on the buzzers on several occasions, but they gave a fair account of themselves; thanks for playing!

 

The stats: Adrija Bhattacharya was the best buzzer of the night with five starters, while Elijah Scheinson was best for Somerville with three. On the bonuses, Emmanuel managed 17 out of 36 (with three penalties) and Somerville 11 out of 21 (with four penalties).

 

Next week's match: Glasgow vs Goldsmiths London

 

Only Connect concluded its (first) elimination round with the returns of the Six Sevens, who were defeated by Meat & Two Veg in their first match, and the Risk Takers, who lost to the Creepy Crawleys the following week.

 

I claim the same point as the Sevens on the fire music question in the first round and a point each on the newspapers picture question and the maths operations question, while my Dad claims the same point as the Takers on the currencies question; the Takers led 4-2 after that. I claim the same three points as the Sevens on the Jack and Jill question in the second round and the same two points as them on the Murrays picture question, plus two points on the ‘missing vowels’ and Bond film titles questions; the Sevens were 8-7 ahead at the end of that round.

 

On to the Walls, and the Takers got one set fairly early, then got the others quite quickly later on; they only got two of the connections, so six points. The Sevens struggled with theirs, eventually getting one group, but none of the others; they got three connections, so four points, meaning the Takers led 13-12 going into Missing Vowels. The Sevens just about had the better of a very close round to just about win 19-18! Well done them, and best of luck next time, and thanks to the Takers for, er, taking part!

 

Next week’s match: the (first) qualification round begins with the Two Hearts vs the Makeweights

 

Mastermind was won by Eileen Thatcher, whose 22 points saw her win a high scoring contest ahead of Gareth Peel with 19 and Kate Peck and Justin Uzomba with 18 each.

 

Yesterday’s Brain of Britain was won by Anthony Smith, who took a lead in the first round and maintained it for the rest of the contest; he won with 17 points, comfortably ahead of second placed Lillian Crawford (UC alumnus) with 10. Francoise Rogers and Ryan Hayes completed the line-up with 7 and 9 respectively.

 

And that's it for another week! Thanks as ever for reading; no other real news to cover this week. Only two first round matches left with UC, so time to savour them while we can before my least favourite round kicks off soon. Anyway, back same time same place next Monday, so, see yous then... 

Quizzy Mondays 2026-27 Week 11: University Challenge R1M11, Only Connect Elimination Match 3, Mastermind Heat 9

Hello my friends, and welcome to another Quizzy Monday! Coming up, the usual suspects from this evening, plus Brain of Britain from yesterday. But first, some good news: two of the Radio 4 quiz pilots from the summer, Bookmarks and Your Number's Up, have been picked up for full series! Great to hear as they were probably the best two of the four. Applications for the latter open now; go to QI's pages on social media for details. Anyway, on with the established quizzes, beginning with UC...

 

Southampton have appeared in twelve previous BBC series, of which only twice have they made it past the second round; first to do so was the team of our old friend Richard Evans who reached the QFs in 2013-14, second was the team of 22-23 who went one better and reached the semis. Last year's team were unlucky to go out in the second round by just ten points IIRC. This year's foursome were:

James Carrick-Lawson, from Orpington in London, studying Computer Science

Zosia Mikałajczuk, from Cambridge, studying History

Captain: JB Cassidy, from Southampton, studying for a PGCE

Michael Wu, from St Louis, Missouri, studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering 

 

Queen's University Belfast won a series in the early 80s; of its thirteen previous BBC era appearances, the furthest it's gotten is four runs to the QFs. Its last team, two series ago, were one of those teams, defying expectations to do so, notably beating series favourites Imperial on a tie-breaker, before finally being knocked out by Bristol. This year's quartet were:

Owen Carter, from Concord, Massachusetts, studying Public History

Thomas Dean, from Banbridge in County Down, studying Physics

Captain: Isa Arellano, from Fort Worth, Texas, studying English

Noah Calhoun, from Louisville, Kentucky, studying Maths 

 

Queen's kicked off with a starter and full bonus set, but then immediately lost five. Two starters in a row thus allowed Southampton to take the lead, but Queen's fought back with the first picture round, after which they led 40-35. Back came Southampton immediately though, and they had the better of the second quarter, just falling short of reaching 100. Queen's got back into the game with the music round, after which they trailed 95-65.

 

Two starters in a row to Queen's, all but one of the bonuses, and they'd suddenly taken the lead. Only for Southampton to take two of their own and, with it, the lead back. They also took the second picture round, after which they led 135-110. A penalty to Queen's, a pickup and two bonuses to Southampton put them in pole position, but the Northern Irish side responded with a perfect 25 to keep themselves in the game. Back ahead Southampton pulled, back behind Queen's pulled again in a superb final sprint! By now, both teams had done more than enough to come back win or lose. A starter and two bonuses put Queen's in front by five! Southampton immediately retook it... and that was the gong! Southampton won 200-195!

 

A fantastic match, played brilliantly by both teams, very well done both! Well done Southampton, and best of luck in the second round! Hard lines to Queen's, but they will indeed be back in the repechage; best of luck to them in that!

 

The stats: Thomas Dean was the best buzzer of the night with six starters, while JB Cassidy and Michael Wu were joint best for Southampton with four each. On the bonuses, Southampton managed 16 out of 34 and Queen's 21 out of 30 (with two penalties).

 

Next week's match: Emmanuel Cambridge vs Somerville Oxford

 

Only Connect’s third elimination match saw the returns of the Double Features, who were beaten by the Colonial Geese in their first match, and Accrual World, who lost out to the Knitwits first time around.

 

I claim the same point as the Features on the Spice question in the first round (my Dad also worked out the picture sequence to all be ‘Mr something’, but not that they were all foodstuffs, not sure if he’d have gotten the points for that); AW led 5-2 at the end of that. I claim at least two points on the John McEnroe question in the second round and the same two points as AW on the ‘HOUR’ and onomatopoeia questions; they led 12-4 after that.

 

On to the Walls, and AW worked out two groups pretty quickly, then took their time to get the other two; they got three of the connections, so seven points. The Features also took their time and they worked everything out for a full ten, which reduced the gap to 19-14 going into Missing Vowels. AW maintained and increased their advantage in that though and won 25-17. Well done them, and best of luck next time, and thanks to the Features for taking part, a fun team!

 

Next week’s match: Six Sevens vs Risk Takers

 

Mastermind was won by Alex Spacey, whose 24 points saw him easily win ahead of Beth Goodliff and Freddie Mitchell, who both finished with 19; Lotte Verheijen completed the line-up with 16.

 

Yesterday’s Brain of Britain was won by Tom Mead (formerly of OC), who led from the off and never looked like being caught, and finished with 20 points. David Edwards, the former Millionaire of course, who was a heat winner in the previous series but had to pull out of the semis, finished second with 12; Sue Boardley and Joanne Ragstone-Joggin completed the line-up with 4 and 1 respectively.

 

And that's it for another week! Thanks as ever for reading; advanced warning though, I'm just starting work on a project for another site that will likely be taking up most of my creative attention for some time to come. It shouldn't impact on this blog too much, but just in case, just making yous aware. Anyway, for now, business as usual; back same time same place next week, so, see yous then... 

Quizzy Mondays 2026-27 Week 10: University Challenge R1M10, Only Connect Elimination Match 2, Mastermind Heat 8

Good evening my friends, and welcome back to Quizzy Mondays! Back to normal service at last after the chopping and changing of which UC we're getting for the last few weeks; kudos to Weaver's Week for spotting why last week's was postponed twice, one of the picture starters had to be edited with the chairman's spiel needing to be rerecorded. They did a much better job of it than the only other time I can recall this happening, when the edit was very clumsy and obvious. Anyway, on with tonight's shows, beginning with another UC derby, this time a London derby...

 

University College London, U.C.L. hereafter, is appearing in its nineteenth BBC era series; in the previous 18, it has been runners-up three times, in 04-05, 12-13 and 23-24, while its last team, last series, were beaten in the QFs. This year's foursome consisted of:

Max Emmett, from Nottingham, studying Political Theory

Alan Hughes, from Eynsham in Oxfordshire, studying Environmental Modelling

Captain: Eva West, from London, studying Icelandic

Coirle Magee from Belfast, studying for a PhD at the college's Centre for Applied Linguistics  

 

The Royal College of Art, RCA from here on in, is making its first ever appearance on UC; established as the Government School of Design in 1837, it took its current name in 1896. It's first ever UC team, all of whom were taking the same degree, comprised of:

Jack Merriman, from South Wales, studying Writing

Alex Haydn-Williams, from London, studying Writing

Captain: James Bown, from Uttoxeter, studying Writing

Imaan Hyder, from Reading, studying Writing  

RCA got their UC career off in style with the first two starters of the game and two bonuses from each set. U.C.L. got going with the third, and also took two, but it was the debutants who took the first picture round, after which they led 55-20. A starter and full house saw U.C.L. pull within ten, but RCA maintained their lead with another starter. The more experienced team then took two starters in a row though and pulled into the lead. They also took the music round, after which they now led 95-70.

 

RCA pulled back into the game, but got none of the bonuses. U.C.L. had now found their form though, and a run of starters saw them start to pull away. After the second picture round, they now led 160-80. A further two starters went their way and, while they only took one bonus from six, that was game over. RCA did manage a couple more starters that deservedly took them into three figures. At the gong, U.C.L. won 210-115.

 

A good game, close for the first half but then U.C.L. ran away in the second half. Well done them, and best of luck in the second round! Hard lines to RCA, but a very respectable first performance for a debuting institution; thanks very much to them for playing!

 

The stats: Max Emmett was the best buzzer of the night with five starters, while Alex Haydn-Williams was best for RCA with four. On the bonuses, U.C.L. managed 20 out of 33 and RCA 9 out of 21.

 

Next week's match: Southampton vs Queen's Belfast

 

Only Connect’s second elimination match saw the returns of the Marvins, who were beaten by the Frenemies in their first match, and the Merseyside Eyes, who lost to the Sinistrals first time around.

My Dad claims the same point as the Eyes on the ‘Lord of the Dance’ question in the first round; they led 4-3 after that. We also claim the same point as them on the ‘four feet’ question in the second round, during which the Marvins were most unlucky to work out a sequence but run out of time before they could answer; the Eyes led 9-3 after that round.

On to the Walls, and the Eyes took their time and worked everything out in reasonable order for a full ten. The Marvins took somewhat less time, but same result, another full ten, so as you were, they trailed 19-13 going into Missing Vowels. They recovered good ground there, as I suspected they might, but fell agonisingly short; the Eyes hung on to win 21-20! Well done them, and best of luck in the next round, and thanks to the Marvins for playing, a fun team.

Next week's match: Double Features vs Accrual World

Mastermind was won by Taz Modi, who snuck home with 18 points, one ahead of second place Charlotte Long with 17. Lauren Church and Gustav Adler also took part, finishing with 10 and 14 respectively.

Yesterday’s Brain of Britain was won by Benedict Cooke (who was on OC a couple of series ago), who strode in front in the penultimate round and won with 12 points, five ahead of second place Laura Robinson (who, oddly, got two audio questions while Benedict didn’t get one) with 7. Daisy Towes and James Wetherill completed the line-up with 5 and 6 respectively.

 

And that's it for another week! Thanks as ever for reading; no technical hiccups this week (that I noticed), so hopefully it'll be plain sailing for the foreseeable future. Anyway, back as usual same time same place next week, so, see yous then...

Quizzy Mondays 2026-27 Week 9: University Challenge R1M9, Only Connect Elimination Match 1, Mastermind Heat 7

Good evening my friends, and welcome to another Quizzy Monday! Coming up, Mastermind returns, Brain of Britain continues, and Only Connect enters its second phase. But first, after being postponed twice, the long awaited Midlands derby on UC, the rescheduling of which has caused much trouble; not least my recording of tonight's match didn't see to want to play at first until I got it going by fast forwarding it a bit! So, now it's working, let's do this thing...

 

Birmingham University has appeared in twelve previous BBC series, including the very first series of the revival, where it lost the very first episode to Aberdeen but survived and went on to reach the QFs; two further teams have since matched this run, while its last team were beaten in the first round, also by Aberdeen, three series ago. Playing for them this year were:

Elif Cetin, from Albrighton in Shropshire, studying Medicine

Teddy Fogel, from Twickenham, studying Economics

Captain: Waleed Ghani, from Market Drayton in Shropshire, studying Islamic Studies

Zhangir Satzhanov, from Wimbledon (originally Kazakhstan), studying Chemical Engineering  

 

Leicester University won the very first series of UC back in 1963; its best BBC era performance is a run to the QFs in 1998-99, the very first series of UC I ever saw incidentally, while its most recent team were defeated by L.S.E. in the first round two series ago. Their quartet consisted of:

Abi Burton, from Nottingham, studying Public Health

Emmeline Hague-Wright, from Melton Mowbray, studying History

Captain: Samuel Carlier, from Dartford, studying Astrophysics

Patrick Loughrey, from Northumbria, studying Politics  

 

Birmingham took the first starter of the game, but Leicester took the next two, with all of the first set of bonuses and none of the second. Birmingham took the first picture round, and they got full marks on that, thus taking the lead 45-35. Teddy Fogel, a semi-finalist on Mastermind last series, took his first starter to increase that lead, but two successive starters allowed Leicester to take it back. The music starter saw Heaven 17's record of not being known by UC contestants continue; the bonuses went to Leicester, who took all of them, which increased their lead to 90-50.

 

Back came Birmingham through Mr Fogel and two bonuses followed, but a further two starters saw Leicester break three figures first. The second picture round went to Birmingham; one bonus cut the gap to 125-85. A second starter in a row and a full set of bonuses took Birmingham into three figures. A third pulled them within five points; the bonuses showed none of them watch The Simpsons as they didn't know the Sunsphere to be in Knoxville, but they did get one of the others to pull level. The bit now firmly between their teeth, it was all Birmingham from here on in, two starters in a row to Mr Fogel pulling them well in front, and when Elif Cetin took the last starter of the game, that was game over. At the gong, Birmingham won 190-125.

 

A good contest, very closely fought until Birmingham suddenly ran away late on. Well done them, and best of luck in the next round! Hard lines to Leicester, who were undone by that late run, but they can be pleased with their performance, thanks for playing!

 

The stats: Teddy Fogel was the best buzzer of the night with six starters, while Emmeline Hague-Wright was best for Leicester with three. On the bonuses, Birmingham managed a not bad 21 out of 30 (with three penalties) and Leicester 11 out of 21.

 

Next week's match: U.C.L. vs the Royal College of Art (making its UC debut)

 

Only Connect began its (first) elimination round with the returns of the Culture Club, who were beaten by the Makeweights in the first show of the series, and Ad Astra, who were very narrowly pipped by the Two Hearts the week after.

We claim the same two points as the Club on the Y vowels question in the first round; Ad Astra led 8-2 at the end of that. I claim two points each on the number of different letters question, the Tolkien Martin question and the ‘All for One’ question in the second round; Ad Astra led 12-8 after that.

On to the Walls. The Club went first, and worked everything out with about half the time to spare, a full ten there. Ad Astra worked out two connections, but couldn’t get the remaining groups in their three goes; they did get three connections, five points, which meant they’d fallen behind 18-17 going into Missing Vowels. They fared better in that though and won the game 26-20. Well done them and best of luck next time! And thanks to the Club for taking part!

Next week’s match: the Marvins vs the Merseyside Eyes

Mastermind was won by Chris Matterface, whose 23 points saw him just win ahead of Jane Gibbons with 21; Ali Morgan and Lewis Demmon completed the line-up, scoring 19 and 12 respectively.

Yesterday’s Brain of Britain was a very close run contest; in the end, it was Simon Langley Evans who won the show with a spectacular run in the final round, which he went into joint third and four points adrift, but four of his own questions plus two pick ups meant he won with 15 points, one ahead of second placed Mary Evans with 14. Claire Turner and Thomas Rees completed the line-up with 9 and 12 respectively.

 

And that's it for another week! Thanks as ever for reading; hopefully after the last few weeks of chopping and changing, it's gonna be smoother running from here on in. I have made a half-decision about the future direction of this blog from next season onwards though; watch this space. For now, it's business as usual; back same time same place next Monday, so, see yous then... 

Quizzy Mondays 2026-27 Week 8: University Challenge R1M8, Only Connect R1M8

Good evening my friends, and welcome to another, shorter, Quizzy Monday! Yes, no Mastermind again this week, despite the cricket, which it was initially displaced for, ending early yesterday. But that's nothing compared to the right fankle the UC PTB have gotten themselves into; over the weekend, tonight's match was changed, with Birmingham vs Leicester postponed for a second time and the match scheduled for next Monday shown in its place. Except they evidently haven't worked out what WILL now be shown next Monday instead (schedules currently still show tonight's); hopefully everything will resolve itself in due course. For now, let's focus on the match we did get tonight...

 

The London School of Economics is appearing in a twelfth BBC series tonight; of the previous eleven, its best was when it was runners-up in the 1995-96 series, but its last two teams have all unluckily exited in the second round, last year to eventual champs Manchester. Playing for them this year were:

David Worley, from Tunbridge Wells, studying Economics

Diya Khatri, from London, studying Politics and Philosophy

Captain: Henry Jameson, from Ripon in Yorkshire, studying Economics and Economic History

Daniel Yang, from Calgary, Canada, studying International Relations and History  

 

King's College Cambridge has appeared in five previous BBC series, of which its best performance was that of our old friend Jim Gratrex, whose team reached the QFs back in 2012-13; its last appearance was a first round exit to eventual runners-up UCL in 2023-24. This year's quartet were:

Niall Kim, from Hatfield in Hertfordshire, studying Economics

Ben LaFond, from Sharon, Massachusetts, studying Linguistics

Captain: Claire McLellan-Cassivi, from Minnesota and Saskatchewan, studying Astronomy

Adhyan Shukla, from New Delhi, studying Maths  

 

L.S.E. took the first starter of the night, their captain Mr Jameson taking the first of a productive night; but King's took the next two and thus went into the early lead. They also took the first picture round, after which they led 50-15. The two sides then swapped starters, though neither took any bonuses, before L.S.E. finally broke this rot with a starter and two bonuses. They also took the music round, during which I thought the chairman was a bit harsh to express Paxo-esque exasperation when they didn't know one of them! L.S.E. had nonetheless cut the gap to 65-50.

 

The bit now between their teeth, the Londoners took two further starters to go into the lead. But their momentum duly ran out as King's reawoke and a run of their own took them into the lead and three figures. They also took the second picture round, after which they now led 125-90. Another couple of starters to King's, a good haul of bonuses, and the game looked won. But L.S.E. weren't done yet; a starter and two bonuses took them into three figures, and another was enough for them to make it onto the repechage board. Another couple of starters, two bonuses from each, and they were suddenly just twenty behind! But a penalty halted their run and that was game over. At the gong, King's won 185-160.

 

An excellent contest, a slow burner that got better as it went along; well played both teams! Well done King's, and best of luck in the second round! Hard lines to L.S.E., but an excellent effort and we may well see them again in the play-offs; thanks for playing in the meantime though!

 

The stats: Henry Jameson was the best buzzer of the night with six starters, while Messrs Kim and LaFond were joint best for King's with four each. On the bonuses, L.S.E. managed 14 out of 30 (with two penalties) and King's 17 out of 30, so it was a few extra bonuses plus those two penalties that decided the game.

 

Next week's match: no idea yet, but we'll find out in due course hopefully, and we do still have Birmingham vs Leicester to come at some point...

 

Only Connect’s final first round heat saw our final two debutants of the series, the Creepy Crawleys, Stuart Crawley, Fiona Parmee and captain Robert Crawley (son of Stuart and Fiona), and the Risk Takers, James Hall, Chris Shore and captain Sarah Bailey.

 

My Dad claims the same point as the Takers on the farms question in the first round, and the same three points as the Crawleys on the ‘easy’ question; the latter led 6-1 at the end of that. I don’t think we got anything in the second round; the Crawleys led 7-4 after that.

 

On to the Walls, and the Crawleys solved everything in theirs in fairly short order for a full ten. The Takers in contrast struggled with theirs and didn’t work anything out in their allotted time; they did get two of the connections, so two points, which meant they trailed 17-6 going into Missing Vowels. They recovered well there, but it was too big an ask in the end; the Crawleys won the show 20-15. Well done both teams there, and best of luck next time!

 

Next week’s match: the knockout round begins with the Culture Club vs Ad Astra

 

Yesterday’s Brain of Britain was a closely fought heavyweight contest, with at least four five-in-a-row-and-a-bonus-pointers; in the end, it was Frankie Fanko (OC winner and a finalist on Mastermind and a previous BoB series) who emerged on top with 21 points, ahead of Chris Ducklin (UC and OC alumnus who I chatted with on a short lived podcast many years ago) with 15 and James Devine-Stoneman (UC winner and OC alumnus) with 12. Carl Josham, who claims the award for the most brilliantly random Spotlight subject so far in ‘mustard’ completed the line-up with 8.

 

So halfway through the heats, Chris is now fourth on the highest scoring non-winners board, Ailsa Watson and Ellie Mackin are joint second with 16 and Paddy Moore is top with 21.

 

And that's it for another week! Thanks as ever for reading; hopefully this UC mess will resolve itself by this time next week. As for The People Have Spoken, which has been airing on Radio 4 on Fridays at 6:30 for the last three Fridays, it's OK, but, if I had to choose between it and Deja News, I'd probably still favour the latter, just about. Anyway, back same time same place next week, so, see yous then...