University Challenge 2013-14: Elimination Quarter-Final 1: Manchester vs Cardiff

Evening all, from Ayrshire. So, we've reached the first of our two eliminator matches in the Quarter-Final process. Whoever lost tonight would be leaving the contest, while the winners would be in the play-offs for the semis. As Weaver said yesterday, it's odd how Only Connect does this process in an appropriate order, and UC jumbles all the matches up.

Reigning champs Manchester came through the earlier stages beating Brasenose College Oxford and Queens' College Cambridge, before losing a good initial QF to last week's victors Trinity. No change to their line-up; they were still:
Edward Woudhuysen, from London, studying History 
Joe Day, from Bideford in Devon, studying Physics with Astrophysics 
Captain: Elizabeth Mitchell, from Birmingham, studying PPE 
Jonathan Collings, from Manchester, studying Geography

Cardiff won a low scoring first match over Exeter, before beating the fancied Liverpool in their second match, but SOAS proved too strong for them in their initial match. Likewise, no change to their line-up; they remained:
Eleri Evans, from Pembrokeshire, studying Maths 
Sara Caputo, from Torino in Italy, studying History 
Captain: Roderick Lawford, from Barking, studying Music, Culture and Politics 
Tom Parry-Jones, from St Asaph, studying Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies

So, off we went again. Manchester got off the mark quicker, and dominated the first phase of the competition, getting the starters, and roughly half the bonuses that went with them. Cardiff got off the mark with the first picture round, on African flags bearing the colours of the Pan-African movement; they took all the bonuses, meaning the score stood at 70-25 in Manchester's favour.

Throughout the next phase, Manchester maintained their advantage on the buzzer, with Jonathan Collings, in particular, having a good day on the buzzer. Joe Day wasn't having such a good day (no pun intended), incurring three penalties during this time. Manchester's good buzzer run was what was winning the match for them, as they didn't seem to be getting many bonuses when they got them.

Cardiff did manage a second starter prior to the music round, and Tom Parry-Jones provided some hilarity by protesting when he was nominated! Manchester took the music round, on pop songs performed in French, including one from a Ms C. Bruni, whose album Paxo claimed to be surprisingly good! Manchester's lead now stood at 105-40, which was almost entirely down to Mr Collings' buzzer work.

Sara Caputo's buzz on the next starter lifted Cardiff out of the 'Sub-50' club; a good buzzer run now meant they could still catch Manchester up, especially given how they were faring better with the bonuses with Manchester. To paraphrase Cromarty(IV), they had most of the smoke, but Manchester, or rather Jonathan Collings, had most of the fire, meaning they had the advantage.

The second picture round, on paintings featuring flowers, went to Manchester; each bonus asked for both the flower depicted and the artist, and the side were unlucky to get all the flowers right, but all the artists wrong! The lead now stood at 140-80; Cardiff could still close the gap, but if Mr Collings kept buzzing like he had, you got the feeling it would be all over.

Indeed, Mr Collings struck again on the next starter, and the match looked close to being over. Three starters in a row were dropped by both sides, but when Mr Collings took the next starter and the side took all three bonuses, that was the match won. Still, Cardiff managed to end the match with a flourish, with Tom Parry-Jones getting two starters in a row, and lifting the side into triple figures. At the gong, Manchester's win was 195-105.

Another good win for Manchester, though not as convincing as some of their prior efforts; we shall see where the draw takes them next. Cardiff exited the contest with dignity, and, as Paxo said, going out in the QFs is perfectly reasonable, so good for them.

Jonathan Collings' virtuoso display on the buzzer ended with a final total of TEN(!) starters (making him the best buzzer so far this series with 24 overall), which made up for a rather low bonus rate of 18 out of 36 (along with those three penalties). Tom Parry-Jones was Cardiff's lead buzzer with four to his name; he ends his side's run as their best buzzer, with sixteen overall. The Welsh side converted 9 bonuses out of 15.

Moving on, next week, we should be seeing Somerville vs Southampton for a place in the semis (good luck Cromarty(IV) and co!).