University Challenge 2017-18: Preliminary Quarter-Final 4: Edinburgh vs Emmanuel

Evening all. You join me in the dark for my blog this evening, as one of the lightbulbs has gone in my front room, and I'm leaving it off for a bit to cool down before I try and change it later. If I have a spare, I forget if I do. So apologies for any typos I fail to spot. Joining us in the dark tonight were two teams who started the group stage as outsiders, but not total write-offs; there is never such a thing in the crazy world of Quizzy Mondays.

Edinburgh got here via two five points victories over proven good opponents, firstly over fellow quarter-finalists Ulster in the first round by 170-165, and then U.C.L. in the second by 175-170. Hoping to equal or better that tonight were the unchanged four of:
John Heaton-Armstrong, from Edinburgh, studying Russian and History
Stanley Wang, from Edinburgh, studying Speech and Language Processing
Captain: Innis Carson, from Glasgow, studying Chemistry
Philippa Stone, from Oxford, studying Biology

Emmanuel College Cambridge also had a close first round match, beating St Hugh's of Oxford 170-155, before a more comfortable win over Strathclyde in the second, 170-105. Also hoping for a result as good or better than those were the also unchanged line-up of:
Ed Derby, from Manchester, studying Physics  
Kitty Chevallier, from Hampshire, studying Arabic and Hindi  
Captain: Alex Mistlin, from Islington, studying Politics and International Relations  
James Fraser, from Bristol, studying Medicine

Off we set again then, and Ms Chevallier was in very quickly for the first starter to get Emmanuel off the mark first; a full bonus set on alliteration gave them a good start to the night. Mr Wang was just as prompt at getting Edinburgh off the mark, and they too took a full set on statues. A starter was dropped, before Edinburgh let slip five points, allowing Emmanuel to take the lead, just the one bonus following this time. Mr Carson recovered Edinburgh's lost ground, and a second full bonus set gave them a narrow lead. The first picture round, on stills from films of the New Queer Cinema movement, went to Emmanuel, with Edinburgh losing another five on a substitute starter; one bonus followed, giving the Cambridge side a lead of 55-40.

A nice starter followed on the three English cities that are mentioned on a standard Monopoly board; I had Leicester, Ms Chevallier provided that and Coventry for the points, and Liverpool was the other. Emmanuel took one bonus on a tricky science set I popped out for a moment during to fetch my glasses and some torches to help me see better. Edinburgh then slipped up again, giving Emmanuel another starter; bonuses on the Seven churches of Asia, as listed in the Book of Revelation, gave them one correct answer and an amusing guess on another that Paxo liked!

The music starter was missed by both sides; the bonuses, on classical pieces associated with the French soprano Pauline Viardot, went to Edinburgh; nothing came of them though, leaving them trailing 85-45. That lead increased when Mr Fraser took the next starter, and one bonus took the Cambridge side into triple figures. Mr Carson retrieved the deficit for Edinburgh with 'fish'; one bonus followed on Israeli politician Chaim Weizmann. A second starter in a row went the Edinburgh captain's way, as did another single bonus, keeping them well in touch with the leaders.

The second picture round, on writers who have craters on Mars named after them, went to Emmanuel, who took just the one bonus again, leaving their lead at 115-75 heading into the home straight. Mr Carson kept his side in the game by taking the next starter, and bonuses on Angela Merkle, including a topical one on her party, gave them, again, just one correct answer.

Ms Stone broke Edinburgh into triple figures by taking the next starter, and a well-timed full bonus set on dinosaurs put the scores level with very little time go. Next starter would surely win it, who won gold in the men's football in Rio; Mr Mistlin zigged with Argentina, Mr Wang zagged with Brazil, and that might just have won it for Edinburgh. Indeed, though they took no bonuses, the gong went just after them; Edinburgh won 125-110.

A slow low scoring match, but a close one, with a well-timed spurt giving Edinburgh the win. Unlucky Emmanuel, just pipped right at the end, but best of luck in the elimination round. Well done Edinburgh though on another close win against proven good opponents, and best of luck in the qualifiers!

The stats: Mr Carson was, just, the best buzzer of the night with five, while Ms Chevallier was Emmanuel's best with four. On the bonuses, Edinburgh converted 12 out of 23 (with three penalties), while Emmanuel managed 9 out of 21 (with one penalty), so a better bonus rate plus that final starter was where the game was won.

Next week's match: Newcastle vs St John's for the first place in the semis.

Only Connect carried on its group phase tonight as well, and fingers crossed I can get my blog done promptly this week.