University Challenge: Round 2: Match 5: Magdalen vs Manchester

Ah, good to have the regular series back. It feels like ages, mainly because it has been. And, it feels a bit odd of me to say this after what I’ve said before, but it was good to see the old set back. We now know it will be gone next series, so good to see it while we can.

But anyway, onto tonight’s match, and a potentially juicy fixture.

Magdalen College Oxford won an entertaining first round match, beating a very good team from Sidney Sussex College Cambridge 205-125. The side remaining unchanged from before:
Will Wright, from Kew in London, studying History
Rob Mangan, from Nottingham, studying Chemistry
Captain: Henry Watson, from London, studying PPE
Richard Purkiss, from Richmond in London, studying Medieval History

Reigning champions Manchester looked dead and buried against Lincoln College Oxford, trailing throughout, but they fought back, and pulled off a seemingly improbable win, on the final question of the game, winning by 180-175. Hoping not to have to leave it so late tonight, and also unchanged, were:
David Brice, from Kingston-upon-Thames, studying Economics
Adam Barr, from Muswell Hill in London, studying Physics with Astrophysics
Captain: Richard Gilbert, from Warwickshire, studying Linguistics
Debbie Brown, from Buxton, studying Pain Epidemiology

So, who were the favourites tonight? On paper, Magdalen won by a much bigger margin, and got a bigger score. But Manchester, despite not leading until the final quarter-second before the gong, won over a team who scored higher, and they scored 80 points in four minutes. So, overall, I couldn’t possibly call this one.

Things started very well indeed, with both sides getting a full set of bonuses, briefly tying the score at 25 all. From then on, though, Manchester constantly won the race to the buzzer, and began to pull away into a lead. Magdalen did take the first picture round, on family trees from Bronte novels, but the opposition had the buzzer momentum.

Manchester weren’t getting that many bonuses, but their buzzer work was more than making up for that. By the time the music starter was dropped, Manchester led by 105-35. Rob Mangan tried to buzz his side back into the match, but only resulted in setting them further back. The music bonuses, on recipients of a Mendelssohn scholarship, pushed the Mancunians further ahead. One of the bonuses I recognised as the theme to Radio 4’s ‘What the Papers Say’, but didn’t know the composer.

Magdalen did briefly get back into the match, with two starters in close succession, with mixed fortunes on the bonuses, fully getting one set, then dropping the next. Still, it was just enough to keep them within reasonable touching distance. After the second picture round, on actors portraying Van Helsing, Manchester led by 145-65.

There was time yet for Magdalen to make it back into the match. But, despite a couple of valiant starters from Messrs Purkiss and Watson, the Mancunians continued to take the starters, and pull away. It was soon clear that the champs were home and dry, but could Magdalen reach three figures. Alas not; at the gong, Manchester won by 220-90.

A good performance from Manchester, showing that their against-the-odds comeback in Round 1 wasn’t just pure luck. But Magdalen, as Paxo rightly said, did not deserve to lose by that big a margin at all. They were a decent team, and it’s a shame they’re leaving this early. Will Wright got three starters (his colleagues all got one), and they answered 7 bonuses out of 18 with one penalty. Messrs Barr and Gilbert and Ms Brown all got four starters each for Manchester, and the side managed 20 bonuses out of 36.

Next week’s match: Bristol vs Imperial

As for Only Connect, tonight was the latest Champion of Champions, with recent champions, the Scribes, narrowly triumphing over the previous series’ winners, the Analysts. I don’t know, but I think the Scribes could give the undefeated Crossworders a good fight.