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...

Quizzy Mondays 2025-25 Week 29: University Challenge Qualification Quarter-Final 1, Mastermind Heat 23

Good evening my friends, and welcome back to Quizzy Mondays! Yep, we're back at least after our few weeks off for the Winter Olympics, and into the home straight now for the season. Both UC and Mastermind only have nine shows left each, which, as it stands, mean both will reach their finals on the same day! If so, hopefully this means an earlier start for Mastermind and not a late start for UC, as then I'll have to delay my blog until Tuesday. Which, I may have to do some time in the coming weeks anyway, I'll let you know when/if the time comes. Anyway, let's get back into the swing of things, beginning with UC, where tonight we'd know the first semi-finalists...

 

Edinburgh defeated Newcastle and Trinity of Cambridge in the earlier rounds, before comfortably beating Manchester 190-85 in a low-ish scoring first quarter-final. They were the same foursome as those three previous games:

Parthav Easwar, from Portland, Oregon, studying Sustainable Lands and Cities

Johnny Richards, from Los Angeles, studying Ancient DNA

Captain: Alice Leonard, from Portsmouth, studying Environment, Culture and Society

Rayhana Amjad, from Dublin and Glasgow, studying Computer Science

 

Merton College Oxford were comfortable winners over the decent Durham and Churchill of Cambridge teams in the first two rounds, before just edging out U.C.L. 160-150 in a very close first quarter-final. They were also the same unchanged quartet as those prior occasions:

Ciaran Duncan, from High Wycombe, studying English Literature

Eveline Ong, from Singapore, studying Maths and Philosophy

Captain: Elliot Cosnett, from Hatton in Warwickshire, studying History

Verity Fleetwood-Law, from Amersham, studying English and French

 

Edinburgh took the first starter, and two of the resulting bonuses. It took until the fifth starter for another to be answered correctly, with both teams losing five on the three in between, taking Merton down to -10. Edinburgh finally got the scores ticking the right way again, but no bonuses followed this time. Another two starters were dropped, and Merton lost another ten points on them, taking them down to -20, which I believe is the lowest score we've seen in the BBC era (at least two have fallen to -15). The Oxonians finally got going with the, rather late, first picture round, wiping out their deficit and taking the scores to 45-0. The second phase was thus rather short, with both sides taking just one starter each. The music starter was missed by both teams; the music bonuses, eventually, went to Edinburgh, who took two, which took their lead to 80-10.

 

Another starter and two bonuses took Edinburgh to three figures. Merton managed to string a couple of starters together though, including the second picture starter; after the second picture bonuses, they trailed 100-45. The Oxonians now had the momentum though, taking a further two starters which suddenly pulled them back into the game. The bonuses didn't fall for them though, meaning they remained adrift. Another penalty to Edinburgh, a fifth starter in a row to Merton, one bonus, and they were suddenly just ten behind. But Edinburgh took, what turned out to be, the final starter of the game; no bonuses followed, but it didn't matter as it helped them see out the win. At the gong, Edinburgh won 105-85.

 

A very tough match to resume the series with, with some very tricky questions throughout, both teams did pretty well all things considered. Well done Edinburgh, who professionally ground out the win and are worthy semi-finalists; best of luck to them then! Hard lines to Merton, but they're not out yet; best of luck in the play-offs!

 

The stats: Ms Ong was the best buzzer of the night with four, while Mr Easwar was best for Edinburgh with three. On the bonuses, Edinburgh managed 10 out of 21 (with three penalties) and Merton 8 out of 21 (with a joint record for this series five penalties).

 

Next week's match: don't know yet, but probably Manchester vs U.C.L. in the first elimination match

 

Mastermind finally returned after over two months away with its penultimate heat. Pete Simmons won it, leading by a single point after the first round, but by a more comprehensive seven at the end, with 27 points to the 21 of second placed Mark Pagan. Angus Burns and Kim MacKenzie, who was one behind Pete after the first round but didn’t do as well on GK, completed the line-up with 19 each.

 

And that's it for our first week back! Thanks as ever for reading; business as usual next Monday, then, the week after, I suspect my blog may need to be delayed until Tuesday for reasons that I'll come to next week should the need to occur. Anyway, as I say, back as usual same time same place next Monday with my usual write-up, so, see yous then...

Quizzy Mondays 2025-26 Week 28: University Challenge Preliminary Quarter-Final 4

Good evening again my friends, and welcome to the last Quizzy Monday for at least three weeks! Yep, it would appear that UC is also taking a short sabbatical for the Winter Olympics. Which... I'm actually OK with, given the start to the year I've had so far, a short break is actually much appreciated. Back when this blog began, or just before it, I'd have probably not been best pleased, but, right just now, after several continious weeks of coverage, Christmas included, I think I need a rest. Anyway, let's get on with tonight's shows; well, tonight's show, as OC and Mastermind were both repeats tonight, so it's just UC to cover...

 

Imperial came through the repechage, losing to Churchill of Cambridge in the first round before beating SOAS of London in their play-off, then narrowly edging out an unlucky Southampton side 190-180 to reach the QFs of a sixth series in seven. They were the same foursome as those three previous games:

Rahim Dina, from Peterborough, 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

 

Warwick dramatically defeated fellow quarter-finalists Sheffield in the first match of the series way back in July, before beating the useful Bristol side somewhat less dramatically 180-145 in their second match. They were also the same unchanged quartet as their previous matches:

Josh Howarth, from St Albans, studying History

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

Captain: Chris Levesley, from Derby, studying Maths

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

 

Warwick got off to the best possible start, taking the first starter and all three bonuses. Imperial took the second, and two bonuses, and the sequence continued as Warwick took the third and one! Neither side took the first picture starter; the first picture bonuses went to Imperial, who completed the run with none! After that, they trailed 35-30. The two teams then swapped starters, and with them the lead, throughout the second phase of play, resulting in another oddity: that so far, the seven correct starters had been answered by seven different players! Sadly, we didn't get eight out of eight, as Mr Keung took this second of the night in the form of the music starter; after the music bonuses, Imperial led 90-55.

 

Warwick pulled back into the game with a starter and a couple of bonuses, but Imperial then took two in a row to extend their lead, and reach three figures. The second picture round went to Warwick, which cut their deficit to 120-95. A second starter in a row took Warwick into three figures too and within ten points. There was then another odd moment as both sides lost five points and, on both starters, the other team's answer was disallowed for being too specific. Imperial finally broke the run, and they, or rather their captain Mr O'Flanagan, went on an excellent late run that saw them run away with the game. Their bonus rate did vary a bit, from all of the penultimate set to none of the last, but it didn't really matter. At the gong, Imperial won 190-105.

 

A good contest, close until Imperial ran away with it late on. Well done them, and best of luck in the qualifiers! Hard lines to Warwick, but they're certainly not out of it yet; best of luck to them in the elimination matches!

 

The stats: Mr O'Flanagan was the best buzzer of the night with EIGHT(!) starters, at least half of which came in the final minutes I think, while Messrs Kluzowski and Levesley and Ms Dennett were all joint-best for Warwick with two each. On the bonuses, Imperial managed 16 out of 33 and Warwick 11 out of 18, and both sides incurred two penalties each.

 

As I said earlier, no show next week, or, presumably, the week after due to the Winter Olympics getting priority. We'll probably be resuming on February the 23rd; if I had to guess, I'd say we'd resume with Edinburgh vs Merton in the first qualifier match.

 

We also got a repeat of the Only Connect Champion of Champions special from last Christmas, which makes sense given that they showed all the previous ones, including those from the BBC4 days, in a run of repeats a couple of years ago and this is the only one that hadn’t been done yet, so a good one to show now when you have just the one free week to fill in. Whether they’ll show more repeats when QM resumes or just show Mastermind in the later slot, which I very much doubt, we shall find out in due course.

 

And that's it for another week! Thanks as ever for reading; we'll now be taking a few weeks off for the Winter Olympics, and, as I said before, we'll probably be back on the 23rd, but I'll post on Twitter X as soon as we find out for sure. Also, as I said last week, I'm still seriously considering starting posting about other, non-quiz related, things on this blog later in the year; once I get firm ideas on exactly what, I'll get back to yous. Again, if you'd like to see this, let me know on here or on one of the microblogging sites. Anyway, we'll be back after the Winter Olympics, so, whenever that is, see yous then...