Quizzy Mondays 2026-27 Week 16: University Challenge Repechage Play-Off 2, Only Connect Qualification Match 4, Mastermind Heat 14

Hello my friends, and welcome to another Quizzy Monday. After a week where various factors have caused me to lose sight of where we're at in various things at the moment. Quizzy Mondays isn't one of them though, as onwards we continue. Coming up, OC's third phase concludes, Mastermind's latest heat and a very close squeak on Brain of Britain. But first as ever, UC and the second play-off before my least favourite round of the contest begins next week...

 

Bristol lost the very first match of the series way back in July to perennial UC heavyweights Imperial 220-160, a score much lower than their opponents tonight but against a very good quality opponent. They were unchanged from that first match:

Jake Wingfield, from Kidderminster, studying Music

Francesca O'Connor, from East Grinstead, studying English and History

Captain: Freddie Burns, from Stroud, studying Quantum Computing

Artem Borisov, from Moscow, studying Maths and Computer Science

 

Queen's University Belfast lost a fantastic match to Southampton 200-195 just over a month ago, and were unfortunate to do so with such a high score, by just fives points, and on the final starter of the match. They were also unchanged from beforehand:

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 

 

A penalty to Queen's immediately handed Bristol the upper hand as they took the first two starters and four bonuses. Queen's did get off the mark, but after the first picture round, Bristol led 55-15. The Avonsiders maintained their lead through the second quarter, with Queen's getting starters as well, but further penalties holding them back. The music starter saw the chairman express astonishment that resident musician Jake Wingfield didn't get The Marriage of Figaro straight away! (It wasn't even that slow a buzz!) After the music bonuses, Bristol led 95-50.

 

A further two starters and pairs of bonuses pushed Bristol further ahead, with a penalty that brought Queen's back into the game proving a blip as they pulled away into a potential match winning lead. Queen's did take the second picture round, which just about kept them in the game; after the bonuses, they trailed 150-85. Another starter to Bristol though, followed by all three bonuses, and the lead was 90 points and surely safe. Queen's did deservedly reach three figures with a couple more starters, one of which led to a set of bonuses on the late Catherine O'Hara that I really hope was put in just so we could hear someone on UC say 'Schitt's Creek'! Bristol continued to push though and reached their double century with their final starter of the game. At the gong, Bristol won 205-135.

 

A good contest despite the comfortable scoreline in the end. Well done Bristol, an excellent performance with all four contributing well; best of luck to them in the second round! Hard lines to Queen's, for whom the questions just didn't fall (as well) this time, but they didn't disgrace themselves; thanks for playing!

 

The stats: Jake Wingfield and Thomas Dean were joint best buzzers of the night with five each for their respective teams. On the bonuses, Bristol managed 20 out of 33 (with one penalty) and Queen's 14 out of 22 (with three penalties).

 

Next week's match: the first second round match! Don't know who's playing yet, but we'll find out soon enough.

 

Only Connect’s final qualifying match saw the returns of the last two first round winners, Meat & Two Veg, who defeated the Six Sevens first time around, and the Creepy Crawleys, who were winners over the Risk Takers in the first round.

 

I claim three points on the Page Not Found question in the first round; the Crawleys led 6-1 at the end of that. I also claim three points on the Andrew Lloyd Webber question in the second round (helped enormously by having been thinking just the other day about how the Maria show is two decades old now and feeling very old as a result!); the Crawleys led 11-3 after that.

 

On to the Walls, and the Crawleys worked everything out with their final attempt at the last two groups for a full ten points. M&TV also worked out all the groups, but missed one of the connections; seven points there, which meant they trailed 21-10 going into Missing Vowels. The Crawleys maintained their advantage exactly in that to win 27-16. Well done them, and best of luck in the quarter-finals, and best of luck M&TV in the play-offs!

 

Next week’s match: the Frenemies vs the Merseyside Eyes in the first play-off

 

Mastermind was won by Lewis Sinclair, who was level on points with Naomi Liddle and Martin Whitelegge on 9 each after the first round, but fared best on GK to win with 22 points, with Naomi second on 20 and Martin third on 16. Gordon Rogers completed the line-up with 13.

 

Yesterday’s second Brain of Britain semi-final was a heavyweight clash, with Chris Ducklin and Frankie Fanko meeting again after doing so in the heats. This time though, it was Chris who emerged triumphant, sneaking one ahead in the final round to win with 16 points to Frankie’s 15! Anthony Smith and Ewan MacAulay also competed, finishing with 11 and 10 respectively.

 

And that's it for another week! Thanks as ever for reading; back next week with my usual summary which hopefully will be done in a much clearer state of mind than this week. You wouldn't think it, but I really am a bit all over the place at the moment, so apologies if my work here and elsewhere starts to suffer in the coming weeks. Anyway, back as usual same time same place next week, so, see yous then... 

Quizzy Mondays 2026-27 Week 15: University Challenge Repechage Play-Off 1, Only Connect Qualification Match 3, Mastermind Heat 13

Good evening friends, and welcome to another Quizzy Monday! I'm pleased to say I've come up with a new plan for the afore-mentioned big project that I've started work on that will hopefully make it a bit less daunting and thus means I won't have to put myself out of the way to focus on it. We'll see how it goes over the next few weeks, in fact I may even post about it on this blog at some point, but, as it stands, it's going to be business as usual for the foreseeable future, with my summaries continuing in full. Anyway, on with tonight's festivities, beginning with UC and the first knockout match of the series...

 

St John's College Cambridge were defeated by Univ Oxford back in late July, an impressive late spurt seeing them rack up a good enough score to return tonight, the final totals 200-170. They were the same foursome as that afore mentioned match:

Callum Thomas, from Queensland, Australia, studying Zoology

Jonathan Watts, from London, studying Maths

Captain: Liam Plimmer, from Dorset, studying English

Aurelia Walker, from London, studying Maths

 

The London School of Economics were beaten by another Cambridge team, King's, on the Anglo-Welsh Bank Holiday, another late run seeing them rack up their sufficient total, 185-160 the scores there. They were also unchanged from first time around:

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 

 

St John's took the first starter of the night, L.S.E. the second, and both took a single bonus. St John's took the third, and broke the pattern with a full set. The London side took the first picture round, after which they trailed 40-30. The two sides continued to take alternate starters, until the run was broken when L.S.E. lost five on two in a row, and St John's took two in a row to pull away. L.S.E. did take the music round, during which their failure to get the Bangles saw the chairman go full Vernon Kay and briefly sing along with the track! After that, they trailed 95-45.

 

Another penalty to the Londoners allowed St John's to break three figures and pull away to nearly a 100 point lead. A penalty to them and a pick up kept L.S.E. in the game, but St John's bounced back with the second picture round, after which they led 145-60. L.S.E. were still just about in the game, but their job looked a big ask when St John's took the next starter, and their lead to three figures. Two starters in a row kept the Londoners in with a shout, but another penalty, a pickup from St John's, and that was definitely game over now. A couple more starters took the Cambridge side past 200, but L.S.E. deservedly reached three figures with the final starter of the game. At the gong, St John's won 220-100.

 

A good contest to begin this year's knockout matches. Well done St John's, a solid performance and win, best of luck in the second round! Hard lines to L.S.E., but a perfectly respectable effort to go out on, thanks for playing!

 

The stats: Callum Thomas was the best buzzer of the night with five starters, while Henry Jameson was, again, best for L.S.E. with four. On the bonuses, St John's managed 21 out of 36 (with one penalty) and L.S.E. 8 out of 24 (with four penalties) and, for (I think) the fifth time this series, all eight players contributed at least one correct starter.

 

Next week's match: Bristol vs Queen's Belfast in the second play-off

 

Only Connect’s third qualifier match saw the returns of the Colonial Geese, who defeated the Double Features in their first match, and the Knitwits, who came through against Accrual World a week later.

 

I claim a point on the unconventional biopics question in the first round and at least one on the pink houses question, though the Knitwits get the answer of the round with a rare (for the first round) FIVE POINTS! They thus led 9-2 at the end of that round. My Mum claims two points on the elements question in the second round, and I possibly claim two points on the sporting events question; the Knitwits led 17-4 after that.

 

On to the Walls, and the Knitwits took their time to work everything out for a full ten. The Geese didn’t take as long, but same result, another full ten, which meant they trailed 27-14 going into Missing Vowels. And that already game winning advantage only got bigger and bigger there as they ran up one of the biggest scores we’ve ever seen on the show; they won the show 39-15! Very well done then, and best of luck in the QFs, and best of luck to the Geese in the play-offs!

 

Mastermind was a lower scoring affair this week; Matt Malin won the contest with 16 points, one ahead of Marie Nagle and Tony Barnes (who I’m pretty sure was on the original Fifteen-to-One many many years ago) with 15 each. Emily Freeman completed the line-up with 12.

 

Yesterday’s Brain of Britain was the first semi-final, and, in true Mastermind style, the new Spotlight round was still played with the contenders answering on a different topic this time. Guess Beat the Brains really is gone for good then.

 

Claire Reynolds won the show and became the first finalist, pulling ahead in the second round before running away with it with her Spotlight round, which turned out to be the final round, and winning win 20 points, seven ahead of second placed Michael McPartland with 13. Paddy Moore and Sean Drury, making a quick return after his heat aired just last week, completed the line-up with 11 each.

 

And that's it for another week! Thanks as ever for reading; back as usual next week, unless I decide to tell you all about this project of mine, which I think I kinda have to now at some point given how often I've mentioned it these past few weeks. We'll see. Anyway, back same time same place next Monday with my usual full set of summaries, so, see yous then... 

Quizzy Mondays 2026-27 Week 14: University Challenge R1M14, Only Connect Qualification Match 2, Mastermind Heat 12

Hello my friends, and welcome to another Quizzy Monday! You find me in a bit of a quandary at the moment, partly over a series of online purchases, but mainly because I'm considering scaling back my weekly blogs so I have more time to focus on the afore-mentioned project I've started. In short, don't be surprised if Mastermind suddenly vanishes from these summaries at some point in the coming weeks. Business as usual tonight though, so let's begin with UC, and the last first round match, with both teams knowing 165 or more will bring them back win or lose.

 

The School of Oriental and African Studies, or SOAS as it is now universally known (even on Wikipedia), has appeared in seven previous BBC series, reaching the QFs in 05-06 and the semis in 13-14; its last two appearances, in the last two series, have both seen it bow out in the repechage. This year's foursome consisted of:

Josephine Newcombe, from Wells, studying Korean Studies

Seb Lawson, from Guildford (originally New Zealand), studying Arabic

Captain: Lola Finch, from Redhill in Surrey, studying Liberal Arts

Aidan Langston, from New York City, studying Linguistics 

 

Edinburgh has appeared in 24 previous BBC series, only Durham has had more, winning the 18-19 series and coming second to Manchester last series, plus a further five semi-final appearances, but has also bowed out unluckily early on several occasions. This year's quartet, the last team to introduce themselves this series, were:

Daniel Bloom, from Golders Green, studying Linguistics

Caitlin Tambini, from Oxford, studying History and Politics

Captain: Fred Whibley, from Warwickshire, studying Linguistics

Siddhant Kumar, from India, studying Maths  

 

SOAS took the first two starters of the night, including Mr Lawson, with the first of many tonight, getting 'Wimbledon' as soon as '1988 FA Cup' was mentioned! (Don't be so shocked Mr Chairman, anyone with a half-decent knowledge of British football knows they won that!) Edinburgh kicked off with the third, but then lost five of the acquired points. After the first picture round, SOAS led 60-10. And onwards and upwards the Londoners went as the starters kept falling for them and they generally took at least two bonuses of each set, a record which finally fell when they took just one of their sixth set. Edinburgh did the right thing in keeping on buzzing in, but only managed to reduce their score back to 0. They finally got some more points on the board with the music round, after which they trailed 135-15.

 

The Scots side took a couple more starters to pull out of the Sub-50 Club, but a further penalty dropped them back in and allowed SOAS to ensure they'd be back win or lose. Edinburgh did take the second picture round, after which the scores stood at 175-60. Long over as a contest, just a question of how high both teams could get. Edinburgh took a few more starters to pull within sight of three figures, but further penalties dropped them back. SOAS in contrast broke 200, with Mr Langston producing possibly the best buzz of the round to boot, and just about managed to hit the second highest score of the round. At the gong, SOAS won 240-80.

 

A good end to the round despite once again before pretty one sided. Well done SOAS, Mr Lawson especially, a top performance; best of luck in the second round! Hard lines to Edinburgh, who, as the chairman said, are a better team than that and had an utter nightmare on the buzzers; thanks to them for playing!

 

The stats: Seb Lawson was the best buzzer of the night with NINE(!) starters, while Daniel Bloom was best for Edinburgh with four. On the bonuses, SOAS managed a pretty good 22 out of 39 and Edinburgh 9 out of 21 (with SEVEN penalties).

 

Next week's match: the first play-off, featuring two of Queen's Belfast, St John's Cambridge, Bristol and L.S.E..

 

Only Connect’s second qualification match saw the returns of the Frenemies, who defeated the Marvins in the first round, and the Sinistrals, who won against the Merseyside Eyes first time out.

 

My Mum claims two points on the musicals question in the first round; the teams were tied on 4-each at the end of that. I claim FIVE POINTS(!) on the Best Animated Picture Oscar question in the second round, and the same two points as the Frenemies on the Canadian PMs question; the Sinistrals led 12-6 after that.

 

On to the Walls, and the Frenemies got two groups very quickly, then took their time and worked the last two out for a full ten. The Sinistrals also worked out one group quite quickly, but then got a bit bogged down before finally getting a second and weren’t able to get the last two in time; they did get three connections, so five points, which meant their lead had been cut to 17-16 going into Missing Vowels. They fared better on that though and won 27-20. Well done them, and best of luck in the QFs, and best of luck to the Frenemies in the play-offs!

 

Mastermind was a very high scoring and close match indeed, and finished with Kieran James and Lydia Dias tied on 24 and one pass each! Kieran won the resulting tie-break 4-3 to go through to the semis! Mark Hamid (the forgotten member of Gail Trimble’s Corpus Christi team on UC) and Joe Gellman completed the line-up with 17 and 19 respectively.

 

Yesterday’s final Brain of Britain first round heat was won by Sean Drury, who won it in the second round, taking five in a row and a bonus point on his own Spotlight round and picking up all three of his opponent’s dropped answers. He finished with 25 points, way ahead of second placed Zack Rosen with 9; Alex Pills and Gemma Miller completed the line-up with 8 and 3 respectively.

 

Which means the line-up for the semi-finals is complete, and Chris Ducklin has indeed hung on to take the final highest scoring non-winners place, along with Ailsa Watson, Ellie Mackin and Paddy Moore. We’ll be hearing them and the twelve heat winners again over the coming weeks.

 

And that's it for another week! Thanks as ever for reading; now to sort out the various quandaries I find myself in at the moment. Watch this space to see if I do indeed decide to streamline my blog in future weeks. Don't worry though, I will still be posting every Monday, just maybe not covering all three(/four) shows in future; we shall see. Back next Monday as usual with however many shows, so, see yous then...