OK, sorry it's a bit later than I said it would, but here we are with
the first match of the qualification stage of the first round. Playing
were the Cluesmiths, Mick Hodgkin, Richard Heald and John Tozer, who
defeated the Operational Researchers in their first match, and the
Yorkers, Jack Johannes Alexander, Alasdair Middleton and Joe Crowther,
who narrowly triumphed over the Polyglots first time out.
Round
1. The Cluesmiths went first, and kicked off with Lion: '-And He Built a
Crooked House-', then 'Dali crucifixion', then 'Sought by The
Avengers', and finally 'Alex Garland novel'. They didn't know it, nor
did their opponents. The answer is 'Tesseract', the word that links
those clues. The Yorkers began with Twisted Flax: 'Seborga', then
'Forvik', then 'Christiania', and finally 'Sealand'. They had it from
the final clue: they are all microstates. The Cluesmiths chose Horned
Viper next, and got the picture question: we saw a fish and chip shop,
then a budgie, then a pickaxe and finally a helicopter. They didn't get
it, nor did their opponents. They are Raleigh bicycles (Chippy, Budgie,
Tomahawk, Chopper). The Yorkers chose Two Reeds, and got the music set:
the only track they recognised was a cover of the Beatles' 'Help!', so
they didn't get it. Their opponents recognised them to all be covers
done for Comic Relief, and thus took a bonus. For their own question,
the Cluesmiths chose Water: 'Whitehall', then 'Inverted T', and at this
point, they spotted that they are ways that the numbers can be selected
in Countdown! Great question, and well spotted for three points. Left
with Eye of Horus, the Yorkers saw 'Bearded collie', then 'Lancashire
HEeler', and they instantly spotted it: the capital letters are the
start of an animal. It was enough for the three points, even though they
missed that they are animals names within dogs names. At the end of the
first round, the teams were tied, 4-each.
Round 2,
What Comes Fourth? The Cluesmiths kicked off the round with Twisted
Flax: 'Captain Syrup', then 'Wario', and then 'Mario'. They didn't get
it, nor did their opponents. 'Donkey Kong' completes the set, as they
are the lead characters of games that the previous was spun off from.
Good set, but no points there. The Yorkers chose Lion next: 'The Island
of the Sun', then 'Calypso's Island', then 'The Island of the
Phaeacians'; they spotted it to be the landfalls of Odysseus, and
offered 'Ithica' for two points. The Cluesmiths chose Eye of Horus next:
'George IV', then 'Sir Henry Havelock', and then 'Sir Charles Napier'.
They were timed out before they could offer an answer. Their opponents
offered 'nothing', which was correct. They are the plinths in Trafalgar
Square, so anything that has been on the fourth plinth at some point
would suffice. For their own question, the Yorkers chose Water: '$0.25, 0.1 euros, £0.1', then '$0.1, 0.05 euros, £0.05'; at this point, they offered '$0.01, 0.01 euros, £0.01', which was correct. They are the four lowest value coins of the respective currencies. For their final choice, the Cluesmiths chose Two Reeds, and got the picture set: we saw a dog, with its tongue highlighted, then a bat, with a ball of wool highlighted; they instantly spotted it to be the witches spell in Macbeth backwards, and offered 'Eye of Newt', or a newt with its eye highlighted, for three points. Left with Horned Viper, the Yorkers got a music sequence; they recognised the second track to be 2 Unlimited, and thus offered the Four Tops, which was correct for three points. At the end of the second round, the Yorkers led 13-7.
On to the Walls then. The Yorkers went first, and chose the Lion wall. After spotting some early sets, they managed to isolate 'Nancy', 'Michelle', 'Lady Bird' and 'Mamie', which are the first names of US first ladies. They then managed a second: 'Mr Blobby', 'Die', 'The sun' and 'Leopard' are things with spots. They soon had the remaining sets sorted: 'Fagin', 'Sowerberry', 'Rose Maylie' and 'Sikes' are characters in Oliver Twist, which they got, while 'Mat', 'Salts', 'Asparagus' and 'Oliver' can all follow 'Bath', which they didn't see. So, seven points for that.
The Cluesmiths thus had a chance to claw some points back with the Water wall. They immediately isolated 'Sachs', 'Berkeley', 'Cribbins' and 'Cleese', which are the surnames of actors from Fawlty Towers. They soon had a second group sorted: 'Archer', 'Bull', 'Virgin' and 'Scales' are signs of the Zodiac. The final groups slotted in in no time at all: 'Booth', 'Shoot', 'Finish' and 'Album' can all follow 'Photo', while 'Hammer', 'Drum', 'Pound' and 'Ram' are all synonyms for beating. A full house of ten points, which reduced the Yorkers' lead to 20-17 going into the final round.
So, once again, Missing Vowels would decide the match. 'Basic vocabulary in English and French' went to the Cluesmiths 3-1. 'Things found on feet' was split 2-each. 'Pixar films' went to the Yorkers 3-1. 'Celebrity authors of children's books' also went to the Yorkers 3-1. 'Collectible card games' went to the Yorkers 2-0, with the Cluesmiths being timed out before they could give an answer to the third one there. At the end of the match, 31-24.
Another excellent match. Unlucky Cluesmiths, but best of luck in your play off; well done Yorkers, and we'll see you in the QFs!
Next week's match: the Spaghetti Westerners vs the Railwaymen
(Insert comment about Series 1 here)
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