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...

Quizzy Mondays 2025-26 Week 27: University Challenge Preliminary Quarter-Final 3, Only Connect Grand Final

Good evening my friends, and welcome to another Quizzy Monday! But not just any normal one, as it's Only Connect Grand Final day! A summary of that coming up later today. But first, a bit of bad news, as, despite the last new Celebrity Mastermind being shown tonight (except in Wales, where it's on on Wednesday), the regular series isn't resuming next Monday; instead they're showing a repeat of the first one of the celeb series! I suspect this is probably something to do with the Winter Olympics starting soon. It will mean the regular series will have been off air for nearly two months when it does finally resume, which just doesn't sit right in my eyes. Maybe it's time for Mastermind to leave Quizzy Monday and go back to a seperate slot again. Anyway, let's get on with tonight, beginning with UC...

 

Darwin College Cambridge defeated Green Templeton of Oxford by just five points in a low scoring first round match, but pulled off the upset of the second when they comfortably defeated the fancied Magdalen of Oxford team 190-80. They were the same foursome as those previous two times:

Lewis Strachan, from North Lanarkshire, studying Parasite Biology

Ruth Ni Mhuircheartaigh, from Cork, studying Education

Captain: Louis Cameron, from London, studying English

Jonathan White, from Buckinghamshire, studying Geography

 

Sheffield lost to fellow quarter-finalists Warwick in the first round, but exceeded the expectations of an alumnus who commented on LAM by winning their play-off, against New College of Oxford, before soundly trouncing Strathclyde 290-60 in the second round. They were also the same quarter as their three previous games:

Rhys Lewis, from Haverfordwest, studying Maths

Abdelrahman Elsisi, from Alexandria, Egypt, studying Engineering

Captain: Jacob Price, from Hethersett in Norfolk, studying Astrophysics

Isobel Dobbie, from Haringey in London, studying English Literature

 

Sheffield took the first two starters and two bonuses from both the resulting sets. Both sides then lost five, before Darwin got themselves on the board properly, taking one of their first bonuses. The first picture round went to Sheffield, who took all three bonuses, which gave them a lead of 60-10. Darwin's captain Mr Cameron, their MVP in their earlier matches, then took two starters in a row, but just one bonus followed each time again. Sheffield, in contrast, took all three bonuses of their next set. They also took the music round, after which their lead stood at 100-40.

 

Another two starters, and Sheffield's lead was now nearly 100 points. But a penalty allowed Darwin back into the game, though they took no bonuses. They also took the second picture round, and did take two bonuses from that, which cut the gap to 130-70. Another penalty to Sheffield, another two starters to Darwin, and suddenly they weren't that far behind; the bonuses were letting them down again though, just one from those six. Sheffield reawoke and gave themselves more room to breathe, but Darwin reached three figures and finally got some bonuses to their liking, two taking. But when Sheffield took the next starter and all three bonuses, that was game over. Another subsequent penalty didn't matter. At the gong, Sheffield won 155-115.

 

A low-ish scoring game, but a decent enough contest, more of one that it looked like being at one stage. Well done Sheffield, another solid enough performance, best of luck to them in the qualification matches! Hard lines to Darwin, but they played well enough again, especially to recover so decently in the second half; best of luck to them in the eliminators!

 

The stats: Mr Cameron was, again, the best buzzer of the night, with six, while Mr Price was best for Sheffield with four. On the bonuses, Darwin managed 8 out of 24 (with one penalty) and Sheffield 17 out of 27 (with four penalties), so, just like last week, it was the bonuses that won it.

 

Next week's match: Imperial vs Warwick in the final preliminary QF

 

Only Connect’s twenty first Grand Final was contested by the Pitchers, Alexia Jarvis, Jonathan Gibson and captain Paddy Pamment, who got here by beating the Benchwarmers, the Worker Bees twice and the Sorcerers, and the 5ks, Fiona Titcombe, Thomas Carey and captain James Haughton, who lost their first match to the Showstoppers, but have since beaten the Grapevines, the Showstoppers in a rematch, Oh No They Didn’t and the Metrophiles to make it here.

 

I don’t think we got any of the questions in the first round, though my Mum did know the fact about the Grateful Dead and the Lithuanian Olympic basketball team; the Pitchers led 6-3 after that. (Also, has anyone else noticed how bad the teams have been at picking the music question in the first round this series? I’m pretty sure it’s been left til last or nearly last in most of the game this series) I do claim the same two points as the 5ks on the Tory Cabinet members question in the second round; the Pitchers led 10-7 at the end of that round.

 

The Pitchers went first on the Walls, and took their time to work out all four groups; they knew all the connections as well, so a full ten. The 5ks also took their time and worked out all four groups; they also got all four connections, another full ten, so as you were, the Pitchers led 20-17 going into Missing Vowels. And it was the Pitchers who maintained the three point lead they’d had since the first round in that and won the game, and the series, 24-21! Very well done them, most worthy winners (and I think that makes Mr Gibson only the second person to win both OC and Mastermind after Ian Bayley, but do correct me if that’s wrong); thanks to them and the 5ks, who’d have been worthy winners too, for taking part in this series! And thanks to all involved on another enjoyable series!

 

And that's it for another week! Thanks as ever for reading; looks like it's going to be just UC to cover next week, unless something else comes up I'd like to talk about as well. Speaking of which, I'm considering starting talking about other, non-quiz related things on this blog again at some point later this year. I did experiment with that a little bit back in this blog's earliest days IIRC, but I'm thinking it might be something I might want to try again on here at some point. So, if you'd be interested in seeing me write about other things on here, do let me know. Anyway, I'll be back same time same place next week with my usual, rather shorter than usual, write-up, so, see yous then I guess...