Here we are again people; Monday night, so time for University Challenge. With two teams safely through, and two off home, whoever won tonight would join the former two, and the runners-up the latter two. Both teams had proved themselves good teams en route to this stage.
Current champs Manchester got here by beating Brasenose College Oxford and Queens' College Cambridge early on, before losing to Trinity College Cambridge, and then beating Cardiff. They were the same four as before:
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
Southampton got to this stage via the repechage, losing to SOAS in the first round, then beating Loughborough, Bangor and Queen's University Belfast comfortably, before losing to Somerville College Oxford last time around. They too were the same four as before:
David Bishop, from Reading, studying Physics
Richard Evans, from Frimley in Surrey, studying Chemistry
Captain: Bob De Caux, from West Sussex, studying Complex Systems Simulation
Matt Loxham, from Preston, studying Respiratory Toxicology
Off we set, and Manchester got going first courtesy of Jonathan Collings, who had been impressive in the earlier rounds. Southampton shortly followed them off the mark, with JOW and LAM reader and contributor Richard 'Cromarty(IV)' Evans getting their first starter of the night. A narrow miss on the next starter allowed Manchester to pull further away, and after the first picture round, on international agreements and the cities they took place in, they led by 55-15.
The momentum remained with Manchester for the time being, as they seemed to be getting most of the starters, but they weren't quite able to pull away as much as they might have liked to. A rare slip-up from Jonathan Collings allowed Matt Loxham to bring Southampton back into the match, and bonuses on US presidents moved them further forward. But in stepped Joe Day, and a full set of bonuses increased their advantage.
A very complex music round followed, where the teams had to listen to a song with numerous numbers in the lyrics, then give the overall sum of all the numbers mentioned! Yes, really! Neither side got the starter, but Southampton got the bonuses, and did manage one of them. This reduced the deficit to 110-50.
But then JOW reader Bob De Caux slipped up on the next starter, which Manchester took to increase their lead. Richard Evans slipped up as well, beaten by a swerve, but Matt Loxham soon made up for these errors, and the side took a full set of bonuses. Another slip-up from Southampton bought Manchester back into the match, and the side also took the second picture round, on caricatures of American historical figures.
Manchester now led by 155-60, and Southampton needed to get a move on were they to catch up. An error from Manchester gave them the chance, but they couldn't pick it up, and then they made one of their own, which Manchester did pick up. The match now looked to be over, as Manchester picked up more starters, and firmly cemented their win.
Southampton did manage one more starter, and took full advantage of it, converting all three bonuses. But this was as far as they could go, as the gong went just afterwards. Manchester won the match, 200-80.
Bad luck Richard and co, but very well done indeed on a very impressive series of performances, and you lost to worthy opponents. It's been good reading all your correspondence, and extended views on matches. Well done to Manchester too though, and best of luck in the semis!
On the buzzers, Jonathan Collings was Manchester's best performer once more, getting six starters and taking his overall series total to thirty. Matt Loxham was best for Southampton with three, and he finishes the series the side's best buzzer, with twenty overall. On the bonuses, Manchester converted 18 out of 36 (with two penalties), while Southampton managed a very good 11 out of 15 (with, like Queen's last week, FIVE penalties).
So, presumably, it's SOAS vs Queen's next week in the final QF, and then we're into the semis! We shall see where this series takes us next.
The bad news: that was fairly painful viewing. The good news: it wasn't anywhere near as painful as I thought it might be. Better news: that music round! University Challenge does The Krypton Factor! That was such a fantastic moment, and whoever came up with the idea of musical mathematics in UC deserves a promotion.
ReplyDeleteBest news: a question has finally come up that references Lord Castlereagh! I'll explain why this was my favourite "conventional" question in due course, with a review of our valedictory game. Many congratulations to Manchester in the meantime - you join Trinity and Somerville as very deserving semi-finalists.
When the time came for the music starter it was one of those rare treats for me of being able to guess the answer before I knew the question. Guess it just happens that way sometimes, easier when at home anyway... but the bonuses were tough and I'd not have liked to try to keep track of them in practice.
ReplyDeleteA shame that Southampton had to face Manchester at this stage, and would have been deserving semi-finalists I'm sure. I expect the high number of penalties was a reflection of how under pressure Southampton felt? Manchester are a very good team on the buzzer... have to try to beat them to it! Tried too hard, perhaps, but not sure there was any other option. At least you went for it.
Hard now not to see SOAS completing the semi-final line-up, but in that case I expect the somewhat unfair team line-up would see Somerville and Trinity, and Manchester and SOAS as the two semi-finals,given that already we've seen the producers try to avoid one rematch of SOAS v. Southampton (that would have made somewhat more sense).
Thanks again for all your write-ups, Jack. Not a very happy match for us, that one - our buzzer timing (well mine especially) deserted us and Manchester punished us pretty much every time.
ReplyDeleteAfter the music round, I certainly figured that it was worth having a crack at the earliest possible opportunity, but it just so happened that I either didn't have quite enough information, or the question meandered off just as I buzzed (I intended to come in with "PRB" on the Ruskin one, just as Jeremy said "artist", which threw me completely).
Very enjoyable experience though, and pleased we put in a few really good performances. Good luck to the remaining five teams for the rest of the competition.
Whoops, I could've sworn I'd posted the numbers for this one already. At any rate, they are 146 for Southampton (final score: 197) and 173 for Manchester (current average: 221).
ReplyDeleteCommiserations to Southampton, but you've been a very good team indeed and it was lovely playing with you at Oxford Deep Bench the other week!