University Challenge: Champion of Champions: Magdalen vs Manchester

Evening all. Have had a tiring day on the road, but am now back home safely. This evening saw some University Challenge specials on BBC2 to mark the channel's fiftieth birthday. We had a repeat on a documentary from a couple of years back, and a special Champion of Champions match between the two sides that have won the title four times. Up here in Scotland, we had to wait an extra hour due to regional variations, but we've seen them now, so here's a review of the match.

Magdalen College Oxford won the title in 1997, 1998, 2004 and 2011. They were the first institution to A) win the series two years in a row, B) win it three times and C) win it four times. They had sent the four captains of their four teams; they were:
Matthew Chan, captain in 2011, still at Magdalen studying Modern French History
Freya McClements, captain in 2004, now a writer and BBC journalist
Captain: Jim Adams, captain in 1997, now a business consultant
Sarah Healey (nee Fitzpatrick), captain in 1998, now a civil servant for the DCMS

Manchester won the title in 2006, 2012 and 2013, and were retrospectively awarded the 2009 title after that unfortunate disqualification business. They were the second team to win two titles in a row. Instead of sending their four captains, they had sent the best player from each team; they were:
Henry Pertinez, played in 2009, now working at Liverpool University
Gareth Aubrey, played in 2006, begins solicitor training shortly
Captain: Tristan Burke, captain in 2012, still at Manchester doing a PhD
Adam Barr, played in 2013, still at Manchester undertaking his degree

So, a fine line-up there. I couldn't accurately gauge how the teams would fare, but I expected that, as Manchester had sent their best players rather than their captains, they'd fare better.

Indeed, Manchester flew off the mark, with Tristan Burke getting the first two starters and all the bonuses that went with them. One of his starters was a very good cryptic one that Paxo seemed amazed he got so quickly! A slip-up allowed Magdalen to get off the mark, but they could only manage one of their bonuses. The first picture round a nice complex one, on a map of the world with the largest countries assigned the name of the most populous ones; Manchester worked out the starter, and all the bonuses, giving them a lead of 70-15.

Manchester went on to take a fourth full set of bonuses, meaning only that one penalty meant they didn't score a round hundred. They weren't so lucky with their fifth set, getting only one, but soon returned to form getting a full house on their sixth. They were now over a hundred ahead, and Paxo gave Magdalen his usual 'plenty of time left' reassurance, claiming Manchester would soon get embarrassed about looking so keen!

The music round was on pairs of classical pieces by composers of the same nationality; Manchester took this, and their lead rose to 150-15. A pair of starters were then dropped, before Sarah Healey finally gave Magdalen a second starter; their resultant bonuses were a great set on characters in the Railway Series and their epithets! They managed two of these, missing the third by not remembering Gordon as the Big Engine!

The second picture round was on depictions of female characters in the Odyssey; Magdalen took the starter, and a full set of bonuses, which reduced the gap to 160-60. If they could string a run of starters together, they could still catch up. But Manchester weren't going to let them, and by taking the next starter and all the bonuses, assured their victory.

Magdalen did manage one more starter, which allowed them to reach a more respectable score, which they deserved to do. The remaining starters went to Manchester, allowing them to run up their score somewhat. At the gong, Manchester had won 230-80. As the credits rolled, the two teams came together for handshakes.

Well done Manchester on a very impressive performance indeed, which just goes to show how powerful their teams are nowadays. Well done to Magdalen too, who were just outplayed on the buzzer, and did actually do OK when they did get in. Paxo was correct in saying the teams didn't have to take part in this, and deserve credit for doing so.

The stats: Gareth Aubrey was Manchester's best buzzer with four starters; Sarah Healey also got four starters, which were the only ones her team could manage. On the bonuses, Magdalen converted a very good 8 out of 12, while Manchester managed a brilliant 26 out of 33 (with two penalties).

So, as far as I am aware, that's it from UC for a while until the series returns in the Summer. Until then, I'll probably be covering the new series of Only Connect. I'll be covering the first two matches of the series shortly, I hope.