Evening all. Well, here we are: the 44th University Challenge Grand Final! Both sides had fought long and hard to make it this far, and whoever won would deserve to take their place in the annals of TV history. A fourth all-male match in a row to end the series, and a second Oxbridge final in a row, with Cambridge no doubt hoping to avenge those humiliating losses in the Boat Races on Saturday.
Magdalen College Oxford defeated Pembroke College Cambridge, the Open University, Trinity College Cambridge, Bristol and St Peter's College Oxford to get here, but did lose to their opponents tonight as well. Hoping to rewrite history and become the first institution to win a fifth trophy were:
Harry Gillow, from Stone in Staffordshire, studying Classics
Chris Savory, from Burgess Hill in West Sussex, studying Chemistry
Captain: Hugh Binnie, from Cheltenham, studying Chemistry
Cameron J. Quinn, from Los Angeles, studying Philosophy and French
Gonville & Caius College Cambridge got here undefeated, having beaten St Anne's College Oxford, Manchester (The Team Everyone Wants To Beat), Durham (twice) and their opponents tonight once before. Hoping to repeat history and make it two in a row for Cambridge over Oxford were:
Ted Loveday, from Hammersmith, studying Law
Michael Taylor, from Ballymena in Northern Ireland, studying History
Captain: Anthony Martinelli, from Hertfordshire, studying Medicine
Jeremy Warner, from Southampton, studying Natural Sciences
Off we set again then, and Ted Loveday was first to strike on the first starter; the Cambridge side showed they meant business by taking all three bonuses on British monarchs. Hugh Binnie quickly struck back for Magdalen, and they too showed they were dead serious by taking a full bonus set of their own. Mr Loveday took a second starter, and Caius faltered somewhat, taking just one bonus. The first picture round, on flag tables representing nationalities of Nobel Prize winners, went to Magdalen, who took two bonuses to take a narrow lead of 45-40.
Caius reclaimed that lead with the next starter, with Ted Loveday identifying various definitions of MENSA. The side took a full set of bonuses on cubism, before Anthony Martinelli took his first starter of the night, but a bonus set on web browsers bought them nothing. Cameron Quinn tried to break Magdalen back into the match, but lost his side five and handed Caius further initiative; they took two bonuses. Magdalen finally broke back in courtesy of Hugh Binnie, and a full bonus set on philosophy showed they weren't going to give up easily.
The music round, on excerpts from operas depicted on the ceiling of the Palais Garnier opera house, went to Magdalen, but they couldn't manage any bonuses, which meant they trailed 95-75. Mr Quinn took the next starter though, and two bonuses tied the scores. What a good final so far! Ted Loveday gave Caius their lead back with the next starter and the side took a full bonus set on Kyrgyzstan. Mr Loveday took a second starter in a row, but the sides bonus inconsistency reared again, as they took no bonuses this time. Mr Loveday appeared to have put his foot firmly on the pedal now though, as he took a third starter in a row; one bonus followed.
Neither side identified a portrait of Ben Jonson for the second picture starter; the bonuses, on poet laureates and the monarchs who appointed them, went to Caius, who took all three and upped their lead to 170-95. That man Loveday was now running rampant, as he took his latest starter, and the side took all three bonuses to give themselves a 100 point lead. Magdalen needed to get their skates on; a slip-up from Mr Martinelli gave them a chance to break back in, but they couldn't take it. Cameron Quinn tried to break the side in himself, but only managed to lose them five much needed points and allow Mr Loveday to add another starter to his collection.
Caius were now over 100 ahead, and unless Magdalen swept the board from here on in, were most likely home and dry. Ted Loveday seemed to put pay to that prospect, as, once again, it was he who was first in on the buzzer; no bonuses followed, but when that man Loveday very promptly took the next starter, that was game over. Hugh Binnie finally broke the Oxonians back into the game, deservedly bringing them into triple figures, and they took two bonuses on Basil Fawlty's favourite analogy Henry Kissinger. Harry Gillow bravely tried his luck on the next starter, but five more points were begging, and, once again, Mr Loveday took the points.
The gong went during the bonuses; Caius won the final and the series 255-105. The trophy was handed over to the winners by Will Self, who always has something interesting to say. As the credits rolled, as is traditional, the two sides shook hands.
Unlucky Magdalen, who were well in the game until half time; but they've played a great game all through the series and lost to a worthy team in the final, and coming second in UC is still very impressive, so well done to them. Very very well done to Caius though; they've played pretty consistently strong throughout the series, despite a couple of dodgy moments, and are very deserving champions! Very well done indeed!
Ted Loveday was the best buzzer and key player of the final, with eleven(!) starters to his name; Hugh Binnie was best for Magdalen with four. On the bonuses, Magdalen converted a decent 12 out of 18 (with three penalties) and Caius 24 out of 42 (with one penalty).
So, that's it for another series. It's been a fascinating series, as ever, and has been great fun reporting on here and on LAM. Thanks to all who commented on here throughout the series.
I'll be back in the coming days with a series summary and some starter stats.
Also, I need something to talk about here until the next series; thoughts welcome.
Whoo! I know Anthony pretty well, and have had occasional run-ins with the rest of the Caius team, so I'm really glad to see them win. I was reasonably confident they would do it, based on past performance, but it's always nerve-wracking watching. (I've grown used to knowing how all the matches end. :P)
ReplyDeleteTed's performance was, of course, staggering but I think it's worth pointing out that over the competition Caius were actually a very well balanced team (and, I suspect, on a lot of those starters his teammates were right behind him.)
Commiserations to Magdalen - I know them pretty well too, and they were a great team in their own right.
I have never been happier to be wrong in my prediction. I liked this Caius team from their first match and always felt they would be tough to beat. They were a well-oiled machine, well-captained and had an impressive spread of knowledge. Very worthy winners. I'd love to see them play last year's Trinity Cambridge.
ReplyDeleteLoveday's performance was especially spectacular, for the principal reason that it was quite unexpected. Unlike Trimble and Guttenplan, who were consistently high scorers throughout their respective tournaments, Loveday tended to blow hot and cold in the earlier rounds (for example, in Round 2 vs Manchester he had a very quiet match, bagging only 1 starter). There's no downplaying his intelligence or ability, but nevertheless this final was testament to the notion that, sometimes, you get lucky and the questions really fall for you.
I think this was one of the better recent finals, along with last year's, even though it was pretty one-sided in the end.