University Challenge 2017-18: Series Highlights

OK, time for my annual University Challenge end of series retrospective. After a rather inconstant first round, the series jumped into life in the knockout round, and that momentum carried on throughout the series. So, let's do this thing...

Starting with my usual selection of the best match of each phase:

• First Round + Play-Offs: Emmanuel vs St Hugh's just gets my pick here, followed very closely by Edinburgh vs Ulster.
• Second Round: Warwick vs Ulster, followed by U.C.L. vs Edinburgh. As I said at the time, those would be a good pair of matches to chose if you're going to get someone started on UC.
• Quarter-Finals: Has to be Newcastle vs St John's, with Fitzwilliam vs Emmanuel not far off.
• The Final Three: All were pretty good, but I enjoyed St John's vs Edinburgh most.

 Not a great deal to chose from in terms of close matches, but the series remained enjoyable almost throughout. As Dave C. said on LAM, even a weaker episode of UC is more watchable then average episodes of other quizzes.

In terms of the diversity of the institutions that appeared, we had a good range of non-Oxbridge teams this year, with four London teams, three from Scotland and one each from Scotland and Wales. No Manchester this series, the first absence of the former powerhouse for a few series, and Oxford Brookes and Sheffield Hallam flying the flag for the post 92 intake. For the third year in a row, Cambridge slightly outranked Oxford with six to five.

U.C.L. take the prize for the highest score of the series, with 315 in their play-off demolition of St Hugh's; they and Ulster narrowly avoid the ignominy of being the lowest scorers of the season, with Cardiff and Sheffield Hallam taking that unfortunate accolade with 40 each. U.C.L.'s winning margin in that play-off, 270, is also the largest of the series, while the largest aggregate score is 430, from Merton's second round win over Oxford Brookes.

Now for the annual highlights reel:

• "Yul Brynner." "No-one's saying anything!" Also, the Red Dwarf theme tune in the music round.
• "Katy Perry" and "One Direction" in a music round!
• "My brother is an aficionado of oolong tea."
• Mr Raii's attempts to hurry Paxo through his pre-bonus spiel!
• "Brexit?" "Yes!"
• Ms Dihal's single handedly answering a bonus set on her homeland! Also, "Troilus and Cressida?" "Good heavens no!
• The music round on songs that received attention the day after the 2016 US election!
• "Fear of bellybuttons!"
• Paxo spookily pre-empting Jose Mourinho's 'Bristol were lucky' comments!
• "Justin Bieber!"
• "Cole Porter" being right this time!
• Newcastle achieveing two 'ONE YEAR OUT!'s in a row!
• Ulster suggesting Roland Garros has had a sex change!
• "Irn Bru!" "Doubtless made you what you are!"
• "Oasis?" "Good heavens no! That's Led Zeppelin's IMMORTAL Stairway to Heaven!"
• Mr Carson's brilliant shout of "Tristan and Isolde". Also, "Denis Compton".
• "1 6 15 20 15 6 1?"

Wow, came up with more than I thought I might there. If anyone has anymore, do let me know.

So, that's it for this series of University Challenge on this blog. It's been another great series to cover, and if it is the last one I decide to do in this format, then it's a great one to go out on. Thanks once again to Paxo, Roger Tilling and all the teams involved for the last few months' viewing, been great as always!

I will post up some more serious thoughts next Friday, once Only Connect has finished up too, as they are connected to it as well. Hopefully I will get my blog of the OC final done promptly in the week.

University Challenge 2017-18: Best Buzzer Per Team

OK, right so, time to get on with my annual look back at the University Challenge series just finished. Starting with a small taster of the buzzer stats for the eight quarter-finalist teams. Firstly, a recap of each of their best buzzers:

Rosie McKeown (St John's) - 32 over six games
Alex Peplow (Merton) - 27 over six matches
Jonathan Noble (Newcastle) -  22 over six matches
Ollie Bowes (Bristol) - 19 over five matches
Innis Carson (Edinburgh) - 19 over six matches
Jack Maloney (Fitzwilliam) - 18 over five matches
Ian Jack (Ulster) - 17 over five matches
James Fraser (Emmanuel) - 14 over four matches

And honourable mentions for the other players go to:

Akira Wiberg (Merton) - 24 over six matches
Molly Nielsen (Newcastle) - 18 over six matches
John-Clark Levin (St John's) and Leonie Woodland (Merton) - 17 each over six matches
Sam Hosegood (Bristol) - 16 over five matches
James Devine-Stoneman (St John's) - 16 over six matches
Theo Tindall (Fitzwilliam) - 13 over five matches
Jack Reynard (Newcastle) - 13 over six matches
John Heaton-Armstrong (Edinburgh) - 12 over six matches

So that's a (quite large) selection of some of the higher totals. As usual, I am happy to send the complete stats on request; get in touch either below or via PM on Twitter.

Back tomorrow evening with a more thorough look back at the series, plus my usual highlights reel; my now annual 'serious thoughts' will be saved for next week, once Only Connect is done too.

Only Connect Series 13: Semi-Final 2: Inquisitors vs Escapologists

OK, the second semi-final of, what could well be, the final series of Only Connect I cover in this much depth on this blog, but, as with my proposed UC streamlining, I haven't made any firm decisions yet. Not this week anyway.

Anyway, playing last night were two teams who have demonstrated the validity of the show's bizarre new rules on second chances; the Inquisitors, Luke Kelly, Rob Cumming and captain Julia Hobbs, lost in the second round to the Wanderers, but have otherwise comfortably beaten the Cricketers, the Snake Charmers, the Meeples, the Eco-Warriors and the Vikings, while the Escaplogists, Frank Paul, Tom Rowell and captain Lydia Mizon, lost their first match to the Eco-Warriors, but came through as highest scoring first round runners-up, then beat the Cricketers, the Dandies, the Detectives and then won a rematch against the Eco-Warriors, while also narrowly losing to the Belgophiles along the way.

Round 1. The Escapologists kicked the show off with Lion: 'Afghanistan i/e', then 'Mozambique z/c'; they came in here and suggested that they are swapped letters in the countries' native language, and collected three points in a good start to the show. The Inquisitors began their night with Eye of Horus, and the music set: we heard Scroobius Pip with 'Thou Shalt Always Kill', then 'Where Do You Go To My Lovely' by Peter Sarstedt, then Billy Joel's classic 'We Didn't Start the Fire', and finally Madonna's 'Vogue'. They identified them as songs noted for numerous celebrity namechecks, and collected a point. The Escapologists chose Two Reeds next, and got the picture set: we saw American football player Chad Johnson, then Mr Chad the graffiti man (Kilroy was here), then a map of Africa with Chad highlighted; they saw the link, and collected two points. The Inquisitors chose Twisted Flax next: 'Gi estas lau mi Volapukajo', then 'Per me e arabo', then 'Dat is Latin voor mij'. They came in here, but could not offer an acceptable answer. Their opponents saw 'C'est du chinois pur moi', and offered them to be the phrase 'It's all Greek to me', in various languages, with the appropriate languages that country uses instead, and collected a bonus. For their own question, the Escapologists chose Water: 'Tim Pigott-Smith: Audiobook', then 'Morgan Freeman: Film', then 'Richard Burton: Album', and finally 'Orson Welles: Radio'. They saw them to be narrators of various versions of War of the Worlds, and collected another point. Left with Horned Viper, the Inquisitors saw 'Film director and producer Alexander Korda', then 'Jockey Gordon Richards', then 'Actor Henry Irving'; they saw them to be the first men in their field to be knighted, and collected two points. (Unsurprisingly, 'Footballer Stanley Matthews' would have been the final clue) At the end of the first round, the Escapologists led 7-3.

Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Escapologists kicked off with Horned Viper: '0 -> script', then '1 -> triceps', and then '2 -> receipts'. They offered '3 -> treespice', which was acceptable, the trick here being that an 'E' is added each time and an appropriate anagram is generated. The Inquisitors chose Lion next: 'When I consider everything that grows', then 'But wherefore do not you a mightier way', and then 'Who will believe my verse in time to come'. They saw it to be something to do with Shakespeare's sonnets, and guessed 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'; correct for the two points, the sequence being the first lines of sonnets 15, 16, 17 and 18. The Escapologists chose Eye of Horus next: 'Many a Slip', then 'Ghostwatch', and then 'Nationwide'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are shows hosted by successive Desert Islands Discs presenters, Roy Plomley, Michael Parkinson and Sue Lawley, so something Kirsty Young has presented, such as 'Crimewatch', or 'Have I Got News for You', would complete the sequence. The Inquisitors chose Water next: '!', then '" "'; they suggested '$ $ $ $', which was correct, the sequence being the extra symbols one can generate on a QWERTY keyboard with the number keys, and the appropriate number of them. For their final choice, the Escapologists chose Twisted Flax, and got the picture set: we saw an exactly square Tetris piece alongside an O, then another Tetris piece with the top row shifted along one alongside an S, and then a Tetris piece with three at the top and one at the bottom alongside a T. They didn't get it, their opponents did: they are letters that can be Tetris shapes resemble in alphabetical order, so a reverse of the second one alongside a Z would be fourth. Left with Two Reeds for their own final question, the Inquisitors saw 'The Aviator: Jamie Foxx', then 'Blood Diamond: Forest Whitaker', and then 'The Wolf of Wall Street: Matthew McConaughey'. Neither team got this: they are films for which Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for Best Actor and the actors that won in the year in question, so 'The Revenant: Leonardo DiCaprio' himself complete the set. At the end of the second round, the teams were tied on 9-each.

On to the Walls. The Inquisitors went first this time, and chose the Lion wall. They fairly quickly isolated 'C-4', 'Semtex', 'Cordite' and 'ANFO', which are explosives, followed in short order by 'DX', 'Hermes', 'TNT' and 'Yodel', which are delivery companies. After carefully studying the rest, they had it on their second go: 'Hestia', 'Hera', 'Leto' and 'Demeter' are Greek goddesses, while 'Poseidon', 'Torrin', 'Orca' and 'Venture' are fictional sea vessels, which they didn't quite get right enough. Seven points there then.

The Escapologists thus set to work on the Water wall. They too isolated a first set reasonable quickly: 'Lettice and Lovage', 'Equus', 'Black Comedy' and 'Amadeus' are plays by Peter Shaffer. After a few wrong tries, they had a second set, 'Pinkeye', 'Mono', 'Heartburn' and 'Croup' are colloquial names for diseases. With just seconds to go, the final sets slotted in on their final try: 'Lupus', 'Cerva', 'Bos' and 'Avis' are Latin names for animals, while 'Egan', 'Ollie', 'Argo' and 'Aria' become girls names when an M is added in front. A full ten there, which gave them a lead of 19-16 going into the final round.

So, Missing Vowels would decide the second place in the final. 'TV programs merged with US states', such as 'ONLY CONNECTICUT', went to the Escapologists 3-1. 'People whose surnames are types of cake', such as 'CROCODILE DUNDEE' and 'KEITH LEMON' was a clean sweep to the Escapologists. 'Words whose letters are in alphabetical order', such as 'ABHORS' and 'ALMOST' was another Escapologists full set. 'Performers and their acts' gave the Inquisitors the one clue there was time for. The Escapologists won 30-18.

Another fine show, some excellent quizzing by both sides, and nowhere near that one sided until right at the end. Unlucky Inquisitors, but a fine series of performances, thanks very much indeed for taking part. Very well done Escapologists though, and very very best of luck in the final next week!

Next week: that grand final, a rematch between the Belgophiles and the Escapologists

Stay tuned for my usual UC stats and recaps throughout the week.

University Challenge 2017-18: Grand Final: St John's vs Merton

Evening all. What an odd day I've had: had very little sleep last night, and the strange feelings carried on at work this morning, though various other incidents there didn't help. My Mum suggested I might be distracted in anticipation of tonight; I dismissed that theory, but, as the evening drew on, I realised she was right. This has been, by far, the hardest grand final I've ever had to call, either on LAM or on here; these are two seriously good teams, and either would make very worthy champions. So, let's do this...

St John's College Cambridge got here undefeated, with victories over St Andrews, Corpus Christi of Cambridge, Ulster, Newcastle and Edinburgh, with only the game against the Tynesiders coming close to close. Hoping to reclaim the title for Cambridge were:
John-Clark Levin, from Ojai, California, studying Politics and International Studies   
Rosie McKeown, from Kingston-upon-Thames, studying French and German 
Captain: James Devine-Stoneman, from Southall in London, studying Superconducting Spintronics
Matt Hazell, from Ringwood in Hampshire, studying Veterinary Medicine

Merton College Oxford are also unbeaten thus far, having seen off King's of London, Oxford Brookes, Fitzwilliam of Cambridge, Edinburgh and Newcastle, all by very comfortable margins. Hoping to make it two in a row for Oxford for the first time in a while were:
Edward Thomas, from Kent, studying Ancient and Modern History  
Alexander Peplow, from Amersham in Buckinghamshire, studying Medieval Studies  
Captain: Leonie Woodland, from Cambridge, studying Physics  
Akira Wiberg, from Sweden and Japan, studying Molecular and Cellular Medicine

Off we set again then, and Mr Peplow was first out of the traps with 'Lord Reith', and his side set out their stall with two bonuses on 'effability'. Ms Woodland increased that advantage identifying 'dil' (the dog) as the herb featuring in the names of various defined words; another two bonuses, on the Shipping Forecast, and they were already looking in ominous form. The Merton captain took a second starter in a row, but just one bonus, a tough set on probabilities, followed this time. The first picture round, on word clouds of works of critical theory, allowed St John's to get off the mark; none of the bonuses, followed though, leaving them trailing 55-10.

Mr Levin gave St John's a second starter in a row, but, again, the Cambridge side drew a blank on the bonuses. A penalty from Merton then handed Ms McKeown a second starter of the night, and their first bonuses of the night, on the works of Anna Komnene, reduced their arrears further, and the show rattled on a brisk pace.

The music round, on recordings from the last night of the 2013 proms, conducted by Marin Alsop, went to St John's, with Merton dropping another five following a swerve on a replacement starter; only one bonus was taken, but the Cambridge side now had the lead, 55-45. And it increased when Ms McKeown took the next starter, and one bonus followed. St John's seemed to be starting to better the buzzer race, but weren't really making the most of the bonuses, thus keeping Merton in the game. Another penalty didn't help their cause though, giving Ms McKeown a fourth correct starter in a row; a full bonus set meant it was now their game to lose, you'd image. Mr Wiberg woke Merton up with a much needed starter, and they kept themselves well in the game with two bonuses on Chinese literature.

The second picture round, on 20th century artworks depicting motherhood, went to St John's, who took two bonuses, and now led 115-60. It was then their turn to drop five though, and Mr Wiberg did the honours for Merton; two bonuses, on the work of Willa Cather, meant they were still very much in this final heading into the home straight.

Ms McKeown then declared 'John Clare' however, giving her side more room to breath; just one bonus followed, but you fancied if they could keep up the buzzing that had got them this far, they'd likely be home and dry. Indeed, Ms McKeown took the next starter too, and you fancied, with such little time left, that was game over. Two bonuses seemed to confirm thus. Merton were going down fighting however, Ms Woodland taking 'lumen' for the next starter, and two bonuses on Boutros Boutros-Ghali deservedly took them into triple figures. And that was the gong: St John's won the game, and the series, 145-100!

The trophy was thus handed over to the winners by the composer Judith Weir, the current Master of the Queen's Music, before the traditional over-credits handshakes.

Not quite on a par with the drama of last year's final, but still a fine end to another fine series. Unlucky Merton, but no shame in coming second after doing so well in this series, thanks very much indeed for playing for us. Very very well done to St John's though, deserved champions, and a worthy addition to the champions list; very well done indeed!

The stats: Ms Woodland was Merton's best buzzer of the night with three to her name, though Mr Peplow was their best for the series as a whole, with 27; Ms McKeown, though, was the best buzzer both of the night, with seven, and the series, with a grand total of 32. (Full stats will be made available later in the week) On the bonuses, St John's converted 12 out of 27 (with one penalty), while Merton managed 11 out of 18 (with three penalties), so, as has quite often been the case this series, it was the buzzers that won the game.

And that's it for another series! Thanks very much to all readers for their ever useful correspondence! Stay tuned for my usual end of series look backs later in the week. And, of course, we still have work to do with Only Connect.

University Challenge 2017-18: Grand Final Preview

Well, another year, another University Challenge grand final, and of all the grand finals I've covered on here over the years, this is, by some way, the hardest I've ever had to call. And I've had to call some very close finals. This year's grand finalists are:
St John's College Cambridge: John Clark-Levin, Rosie McKeown, James Devine-Stoneman and Matt Hazell.
and
Merton College Oxford: Edward Thomas, Alex Peplow, Leonie Woodland and Akira Wiberg.

Yep, it's a fifth Oxbridge final in a row. Last year's final was the best in years, but I fancy these two teams, both of whom have made it undefeated, to top it, somehow, if possible.

St John's made easy work of their first two matches, beating St Andrews and Corpus Christi of Cambridge in the first two rounds. The quarter-finals saw them overcome Ulster via an impressive first half performance, then win a very good close match over Newcastle, and in the semis, they pulled one of their best performances of the series out of the hat as they demolished Edinburgh.

Merton also breezed through the first two rounds, beating King's of London and Oxford Brookes comprehensively. They then recovered from a slow start to overpower Fitzwilliam of Cambridge, and then they too defeated Edinburgh comfortably and then Newcastle by a somewhat larger margin, but a similarly close match to their opponents' encounter until near the end.

So, that's their form thus far summarised, but what of the hardcore stats?

Well, St John's have accumulated 1,155 points thus far, an average of 231 per game, while Merton better that somewhat with 1,235 points, an average of 247 per game. St John's also have the lowest score acquired by these teams, 160, whereas Merton's lowest is 210. Both sides' highest score thus far is 285.

The average points conceded is more interesting: St John's have conceded 525, for an average of 105, while Merton have conceded 595, an average of 119. That's quite interesting, considering Merton have won all their matches comfortably, whereas St John's have a close win going into that total.

Now on to the stats that might just decide the final. Starting with the bonuses, both sides are pretty much even on the bonuses, both converting roughly two thirds: St John's 112 out of 178, and Merton 124 out of 186. Virtually very little in it on that front.

The buzzer stats are maybe a bit more telling: Merton's best buzzer thus far is Mr Peplow on 26, with Mr Wiberg not far behind on 22. For St John's, Ms McKeown leads the way with 25, while their next highest thus far is Mr Levin with 16. That suggests that Merton are maybe better prepared with two buzzers on +20 compared to St John's. That said, Merton have only answered three starters more than St John's thus far.

So, the majority of the raw stats will suggest a narrow Merton victory, but, literally, there's barely anything in it.

As if to prove this, I set a poll up on Twitter on Monday evening, asking who do you think would win the final; at the time of writing, 45 votes have been cast, and St John's lead 51% to 49%.

That just goes to show you how tight this grand final is to call on paper. I have found it hard to pick a winner on this blog in past years, but this year's has to be one of the tightest of all. Both sides have been absolutely brilliant this series thus far, a match between them has been long awaited, and hopefully it will live up to expectations.

Whatever happens on Monday, all I can hope is that we get a great final. This series has really turned around after a somewhat patchy first round, and hopefully the final will carry on this momentum. Best of retrospective luck (once again) to all teams!

Back next week with my recap of the UC final on Monday. OC and my usual UC retrospectives will, hopefully, follow later in the week.

Only Connect Series 13: Semi-Final 1: Vikings vs Belgophiles

OK, we've arrived at the semi-finals of this year's Only Connect. It has been a most interesting series, not least because of its highly unusual format. I still prefer the Series 7-11 format where each team gets at least two games, but this format has its merits. For starters, the two teams playing next week have both demonstrated its validity, but more on them next week.

In the mean time, playing last night were the Vikings, Mark Oxley, John Wilson and captain Mick Lee, who have defeated the Geocachers, the Parishioners, the Wanderers and the Detectives, but been beaten by the Inquisitors as well, and the Belgophiles, Helen Fasham, Phil Small and captain Ben Fasham, who are the only undefeated semi-finalists, having beaten the Lapsed Physicists, the Meeples, the Beaks and the Escapologists thus far.

Round 1. The Belgophiles kicked the show off with Eye of Horus: they saw 'J.K. Galbraith', and immediately offered 'a female author's first name and their male pen surname', which was correct for FIVE POINTS! Great stuff that! The Vikings set to work with Water: 'South Africa: Big Five', then 'Toronto: Seven Sisters', then 'New York City: Charmed Circle', and finally 'UK: Magic Circle'. All they could offer were 'secret societies of magicians', which wasn't quite right. Their opponents offered 'law firms' for a bonus. For their own question, the Belgophiles chose Two Reeds: 'Wolf Man', then 'Dora', then 'Rat Man', and finally 'Little Hans'. Neither team got this: they are case studies by Sigmund Freud. (If only Frasier had been on the panel!) The Vikings chose Horned Viper next, and got the music set: we heard The Clash's classic 'London Calling', then 'YYZ' by Rush, then the theme tune to Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, and finally the Inspector Morse theme tune. Again, neither team saw it: they all are, or contain, Morse code. The Belgophiles chose Lion next, and got the picture set; we saw some carpaccio, then some boudin sausage, then a chicken, and finally some bacon. They saw them to be the surnames of artists, and collected a point. Left with Twisted Flax, the Vikings saw 'Peru and a small part of the Solomon Islands', then 'Uzbekistan & Kyrgyzstan and just under half of Somalia', then 'Afghanistan and well over half of Afghanistan'; they identified the latter descriptions to be clues to the names of the currencies of the formers, and collected their first two points. At the end of the first round, the Belgophiles led 7-2.

Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Belgophiles opened with Eye of Horus again: '2 (12)', then '12 (11,12), and then '11,12 (31,12)'. Neither team got this nice cryptic clue: 2 contains one two, 12 contains one one and one two, 11,12 contains three ones and one two, so '31,12 (13,21,12)' would complete the sequence. The Vikings chose Lion next: 'J. Edgar Hoover', then 'Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons', and then 'Chris Kyle'. Again, it eluded both sides: they are the subjects of Clint Eastwood films, so 'Chesley Sullenberger' would complete the set. The Belgophiles chose Water next, and got the picture set: we saw a bath, then a see-saw, and then a man diving. Once again, both sides didn't see it: it's the classic Mouse Trap game mechanism, so the classic mousetrap cage would complete the set. The Vikings chose Horned Viper next: 'Darmstadtium', then 'Hassium'; they came in here with 'Nihonium', not right. Their opponents saw 'Germanium', and correctly offered 'Europium' for a bonus, the sequence being they are elements by increasing size of eponymity. For their own final choice, the Belgophiles chose Two Reeds: 'Senate', then 'People'; they saw it to be 'SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus', but their offer of 'Rome' was not correct. Their opponents saw 'And', but their offer of 'Romani' was just as wrong. Just 'Roman' would suffice. Left with Twisted Flax again, the Vikings saw 'Palmerston', then 'Beaconsfield', and then 'Salisbury'. Once again, neither side knew it: they are 'Viscount Palmerston', 'The Earl of Beaconsfield' and 'The Marquess of Salisbury', so a famous Duke, such as 'Wellington', would suffice. At the end of a very tough second round, the Belgophiles led 8-2.

On to the Walls. The Vikings went first, and chose to tackle the Water wall. After spotting a set of eye disorders, they managed after a few wrong turns to isolate 'Stye', 'Boston's sign', 'Glaucoma' and 'Miosis'. A second set, 'Bullet', 'Balcony', 'Nursing' and 'Plunge', which are types of bra, followed. They couldn't untangle what was left in their three tries though, so had to go for bonuses: 'Cataract', 'Cascade', 'Horsetail' and 'Punchbowl' are types of waterfall, which they got, while 'Fountain', 'Mills' Mess', 'Multiplex' and 'Columns' are juggling terms, which they didn't. Five there then.

The Belgophiles could thus put the game out of realistic reach if they could better that on the Lion wall. They quickly isolated a first set: 'Diadora', 'Macron', 'Kappa' and 'Umbro' are sportswear companies. But that was all they could come up with, so they too had to go for bonus points: 'Fondu', 'Frappe', 'Flic-Flac' and 'Glissade' are moves in ballet, which they didn't see, 'Breve', 'Latte', 'Cortado' and 'Macchiato' are types of coffee, which they did get, while 'Cedilla', 'Diaeresis', 'Ogonek' and 'Grave' are diacritic accents. Four points there, which gave them a lead of 12-7 going into the final round.

So, just about still to play for in Missing Vowels. 'People's names with the capitals swapped for countries', such as 'FRANCE HILTON' and 'IRVING GERMANY', saw multiples errors, and ended 1-each. 'Usually abbreviated to three letters', such as 'QUEENS PARK RANGERS', went to the Belgophiles 3-(-2). 'Authors with their names rearranged' gave one point to the Belgophiles, and that was time. The Belgophiles won 17-6.

A very elitist match, both teams did pretty well all things considered. Unlucky Vikings, but no shame in having gotten this far, thanks very much indeed for playing. Well done Belgophiles though. and very very best of luck in the final!

Next week's match: the second semi, between the Inquisitors and the Escapologists.

University Challenge 2017-18: Semi-Final 2: Merton vs Newcastle

Evening all. So, the penultimate match of the series, with two teams who've both pulled off some great performances to get this far, and who'd both be deserved finalists, as they play St John's next week. Whichever team won would give us an interesting match up: one team had lost to them already, albeit narrowly, the other we'd been anticipating against St John's since the first round. So, which way would it go?

Merton College Oxford have made it this far undefeated, and been very consistent too, scoring over 200 on each occasion as they saw of King's of London, Oxford Brookes, Fitzwilliam of Cambridge and fellow semi-finalists Edinburgh in the quarter-final. Hoping to keep alive their hopes of a second UC title (having beaten Stephen Fry's Queens' Cambridge team to the title in 1980) were the unchanged foursome of:
Edward Thomas, from Kent, studying Ancient and Modern History  
Alexander Peplow, from Amersham in Buckinghamshire, studying Medieval Studies  
Captain: Leonie Woodland, from Cambridge, studying Physics  
Akira Wiberg, from Sweden and Japan, studying Molecular and Cellular Medicine

Newcastle got off to a slow start with a low scoring win over Sheffield Hallam, then hit top gear with good wins over Southampton and Bristol, only just falling short against St John's, and then also beating Fitzwilliam comfortably in the play-offs. Hoping to kill off a fifth Oxbridge final in a row were the also unchanged quartet of:
Jack Reynard, from Leeds, studying Medicine  
Molly Nielsen, from London, studying Medicine  
Captain: Jonathan Noble, from Newcastle, studying for a PGCE  
Adam Lowery, from Sunderland, studying Chemistry

Off we set again then, and Mr Peplow opened the night's scoring with 'Figaro', and his side set the ball rolling with two bonuses. Neither side took the next starter, though they did sort of get the right answer between the two of them. Mr Peplow then took a second starter, and a full bonus set on that old quiz staple, the Nobel Physics Prize, gave them a full house. Mr Noble set Newcastle off the mark, and they proved they weren't going to lay over as they took two bonuses. The first picture round, on emblems of US presidents alma maters, including Mr D. Trump, went to Merton, who took another two correct answers, giving them a lead of 65-20. 

Merton then very harshly lost five after Mr Peplow offered 'church visiting' instead of 'church going', and it was close enough to be considered an interruption too, even though it wasn't really. Newcastle then lost five for, what was definitely this time, an interruption, and Merton did pick up, but got nothing from the resultant bonuses. Mr Peplow took a second starter in a row though, and they made up somewhat with a full bonus set on Greek myth. Another five were then lost though, and Newcastle took possession back, and they too took a full set of bonuses, keeping them in contention when the match looked to have been getting away from them. 

The music round, on classical music of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, went to Newcastle, who took a second full set in a row, which reduced the gap to 90-65. A third starter in a row then went the Tynesiders' way, but a tough bonus set requiring words to be spelt saw them take just one bonus. Ms Nielsen then had something of a rush of blood to the head as she buzzed then failed to answer, losing five; Merton took the points, and two of the resultant bonuses. Two more starters were then dropped, including an unfortunate repeat incident from Ms Nielsen which Paxo seemed to feel sorry for her over. Mr Wiberg then added another ten to Merton's score, putting them in poll position heading into the home straight. 

The second picture round, on French realist paintings, went to Newcastle, who took the full set they needed to keep them in the game, the gap now stood at 130-95. Mr Wiberg then took yet another starter though, and a full set of bonuses might just have been enough to put the game out of reach. 

And when Ms Woodland took the next starter, that was game over. Two bonuses followed. Ms Nielsen deservedly took Newcastle into triple figures, and her side took two of the resultant bonuses. That was as far as they could go though, as Ms Woodland took another starter, and almost single handedly banged out a full set of bonuses. There was time for Mr Wiberg to take the final starter, and for all the resultant bonuses, with one of them taken. At the gong, Merton won 215-110.

Another good match, with both sides playing very well considering the difficulty at this stage, and bravo for applauding each other at the end. Unlucky Newcastle, but nothing to be ashamed of getting this far, a fine series of performances, thanks very much for giving us them. Very well done Merton though, and very very best of luck in the final next week!

The stats: Mr Wiberg was the best buzzer of the night, with six starters under his belt, while Ms Nielsen was Newcastle's best with three, though Mr Noble finishes their campaign their best buzzer, with 22 in total. On the bonuses, Merton converted a good 23 out of 33 (with two penalties), while Newcastle managed a very good 14 out of 18 (with a not so very good four penalties), so it was a game won on the buzzer.

Next week: the final! St John's vs Merton, and, on paper, it promises to be a cracker; best of luck both teams! A preview coming up later this week, I hope.

As will, hopefully, be my review of tonight's first Only Connect semi-final. Right, now off for a much needed rest!

Only Connect Series 13: Play-Off Quarter-Final 2: Eco-Warriors vs Escapologists

OK, so we seem to be having at least one rematch every series of OC, even when it's avoidable, so we have one as this year's as the final quarter-final fixture, with two teams who met in the first round remeeting here. Winners would take the final place in the semis.

Playing were the Eco-Warriors, Jonathan Kershaw, Peter Barlow and captain Brett Bostock, who went on to beat the Snake Charmers and the Wanderers, but lose to the Inquisitors, and the Escapologists, Frank Paul, Tom Rowell and captain Lydia Mizon, who subsequently beat the Cricketers, the Dandies and the Detectives, but were narrowly beaten by the Belgophiles. They were also beaten by the Warriors in that first round encounter, surviving as one of two highest scoring runners-up.

Round 1. The Warriors kicked the rematch off with Twisted Flax: ''Oh! Calcutta!'', then 'Mayday!', then 'Love in tennis', and finally 'Dandelion'. They saw them to be corruptions of original French words, and collected the first point of the night. The Escapologists chose to open their show with Eye of Horus: 'Pregnancy', then 'Political beliefs (in Northern Ireland)', then 'Joining (or not joining) a trade union', and finally 'Whistleblowing'. They didn't quite get it, nor did their opponents: they are grounds for unfair dismissal. The Warriors chose Horned Viper next: 'Evil!', then 'Kick the ball into the back of the net!', then 'Leap!', and finally 'Jump onto a horse!'. Again, neither team saw this: they are synonyms of Jilly Cooper novels. The Escapologists chose Lion next, and got the music set: we heard Dr Bartolo singing in The Marriage of Figaro, then Dr Jekyll singing 'This is the Moment' from Jekyll & Hide, then 'Sweet Transvestite' from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and finally 'If I Could Talk to the Animals' from Doctor Doolittle. They saw the link, and collected the point. The Warriors chose Two Reeds next: 'Mack and Mabel', then 'Barnum', then 'Let's Face the Music and Dance'; they identified them as songs danced by Torvill & Dean, though Mr Bostock needed quite a bit of prompting to try and get their names(!), and collected two points. Left with Water, and the picture set, the Escapologists saw a kangaroo, then the Supremes, then a cricketer appealing to the umpire, and finally the crown jewels. They noticed just in time that their names can all precede 'court', and collected a point. At the end of the first round, the Warriors led 3-2.

Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Warriors kicked off with Two Reeds: 'Margaret Bondfield (Labour)', then 'Ellen Wilkinson (Labour)', and then 'Florence Horsbrugh (Conservative)'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents: they are the first female cabinet ministers, so 'Barbara Castle (Labour)' would be next. The Escapologists chose Twisted Flax next, and got a music question: we heard Freddie North with 'You and Me Together Forever', then 'Play That Sax' by Fleur East; they saw the sequence and offered something by Kanye West for the three points. (They refused to sing an example!) The Warriors chose Lion next: '(e.g.) Sarah Montague', then '(e.g.) Clemency Burton-Hill', and then 'Chris Evans'. They saw it to be noted presenters on Radios 4, 3 and 2, so offered up 'Nick Grimshaw' as an acceptable Radio 1 presenter for the points. The Escapologists chose Horned Viper next, and got the picture set: we saw Ruth Davidson MSP alongside an 8, then a group of judges alongside a 7; they came in here, and suggested 'numbers alongside a 5', not right. Their opponents saw Anthony Joshua alongside a 6, but were none the wiser. It is, as they both knew, books of the Old Testament going backwards, so something for 'Deuteronomy' alongside a 5 would complete the set. For their final choice, the Wariors chose Water: 'Benfica', then 'Uniao de Leiria', and then 'Porto'. They tried 'Sporting Lisbon', not right. Their opponents offered 'Chelsea', correct, the sequence being the first four teams managed by Mr J. Mourinho of Manchester. Left with Eye of Horus for their own final question, the Escapologists saw '3: A (FCG)', then '2: D (FC)', and then '1: G (F)'. They didn't get it, nor did their opponents quite. They are the number of sharps in the major key signatures, so '0: C' would be fourth. At the end of the second round, the Escapologists led 6-5.

On to the Walls. The Escapologists went first, and chose to tackle the Lion wall. After some early difficulties, they eventually isolated 'Whitlock', 'Part', 'Wade' and 'Painter', which are surnames of darts players. A second set, 'Change', 'Tyre', 'Rib' and 'Room', which can all follow 'Spare', followed with not much time left. They couldn't untangle what was left in their three tries, so had to go for bonuses: 'Myra', 'Perge', 'Ephesus' and 'Nemrut' are ancient sites in Turkey, which they didn't get, while 'Troy', 'Chad', 'Gabriella' and 'Taylor' are, of all things, characters in High School Musical, which, much to their embarrassment, they did get! Five points there.

The Warriors thus set to work on the Water wall knowing bettering that would be enough to draw/retake the lead. They saw some possible links, but isolating sets proved more difficult. Alas, time ran out and they could not get anything into place. So, bonuses to be salvaged again: 'Barnacles', 'Peso', 'Kwazii' and 'Inkling' are characters in 'The Octonauts', which they didn't get, 'Tweak', 'Charlie', 'Acid' and 'Weed' are slang words for drugs, which they did get, 'Speed', 'Gravity', 'Crash' and 'Premonition' are films starring Sandra Bullock, which they got in the nick of time, while 'Hunch', 'Intuition', 'Qualm' and 'Notion' are words meaning 'feeling', which they also got. Three there, which meant they trailed 11-8 going into the final round.

So, still all to play for in Missing Vowels. 'Hot things made cold', such as 'COLD CROSS BUN' and 'COLD AIR BALLOON', went to the Escapologists 3-0. 'Late', such as 'OFF THE PACE' and 'OUTSTANDING', went to the Escapologists 2-1. 'Common New Year's resolutions' went to the Escapologists 3-1. 'Types of mushroom' had time for two, one the Warriors took, the other timed out.The Escapologists won 19-11.

Another good show, with some very tough questions, good quizzing considering. Unlucky Warriors, but nothing to be ashamed of in your performances this series, thanks for playing! Well done Escapologists though, and very best of luck in the semis!

Next week's match: the first semi-final! The fixture seem to be under embargo, but the Belgophiles vs the Vikings and the Inquisitors vs the Escapologists is my best guess.

University Challenge 2017-18: Semi-Final 1: St John's vs Edinburgh

Evening all. So we've made it to the semi-finalists of, what has become after a somewhat slow start, a most fascinating and very absorbing series of University Challenge. Two worthy semi-finalist teams, who'd had somewhat different journeys to this stage, but either would be more than deserving of a grand final place, so let's do this.

St John's College Cambridge breezed through the knockout rounds with strong wins over St Andrews and Corpus Christi of Cambridge, then survived a late fightback to beat Ulster in the preliminaries, and then won a gripping qualifier against fellow semi-finalists Newcastle to be here tonight. Playing for a first grand final placing (under Paxo at least) were the unchanged foursome of:
John-Clark Levin, from Los Angeles, studying Politics and International Studies   
Rosie McKeown, from Kingston-upon-Thames, studying French and German 
Captain: James Devine-Stoneman, from Southall in London, studying Superconducting Spintronics
Matt Hazell, from Ringwood in Hampshire, studying Veterinary Medicine

Edinburgh also beat our old friends Ulster, in the first round, and then U.C.L. in the second, both by just five points; they then just overcame Emmanuel of Cambridge, were roundly beaten by fellow semi-finalists Merton and then pulled off a strong win over the strong Bristol team in their play-off. Also going for a first ever grand final appearance were the also unchanged quartet 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

Off we set again then, and Ms McKeown got the ball rolling for the night with 'Gulliver', and St John's set their stall out with a full set of bonuses. Mr Levin then rolled the ball further out, but his side only took one bonus from a tricky set on Swiss mathematicians. Their next bonus set, on pineapple producing countries and how well they did in the last World Cup, proved more to the Cambridge side's liking, with another full set. The first picture round, on alphabets and their unique writing scripts, went to St John's, who took a further two bonuses, which meant they led 85-0 after the first phase of play.

And that lead was only getting bigger as Mr Hazell took the next starter, but the side failed to take the one bonus they needed to take a three figure lead. The next starter was dropped, before Mr Carson finally opened Edinburgh's account with 'Cosi fan tutte'; the Scots side took one bonus on words who second, third and fourth letters are URM. (It looked like they were going to say 'Turmoil' to all of them, only for it to be right on the second!) Mr Heaton-Armstrong took a second Edinburgh starter in a row, and they did well to take two bonuses from a tough set on constellations whose three letter abbreviations correspond to the given definitions. (They used to be quite fond of those, but this is the first I can recall seeing for a while)

Mr Devine-Stoneman identified Schoenberg for the music starter; the bonuses, on works by three of his students, gave St John's a full bonus set, and a lead of 120-35. Mr Carson pulled another back for Edinburgh, and bonuses on Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey gave them one correct answer. Ms McKeown bit back for St John's though, and they also took just the one bonus. Mr Wang did the right thing and took an early punt on the next starter, but was too early, losing five; had he waited, he'd have heard the giveaway clue, as Ms McKeown did to take the points. And when the Cambridge side took all three bonuses, you suspected any chances Edinburgh had of catching up had gone now.

The second picture round, on regular visitors to Gertrude Stein's salon, went to St John's, who took a second successive full set, taking their lead to 185-45. Mr Levin looked like he was taking an educated guess on the next starter, but was correct, and a third full bonus house in a row only served to put salt in Edinburgh's collective wounds.

Ms Stone did take another starter for the Scots side though, and they took one of the bonuses that came with it. A very good buzz from Mr Devine-Stoneman added further to the Cambridge side's win, and they took one bonus on Kings of Scotland. (I got two right) The St John's captain took a second starter in a row, with two bonuses eking them further towards a 200+ win. Another starter, taken by Mr Levin, and one of the bonuses that went with it did the trick. There was time for one final St John's starter, but not for any of the bonuses. At the gong, St John's won 270-60.

Another great match, even if yet another very one sided match. Unlucky Edinburgh, who Paxo rightly said are capable of much better things, and have nothing to be ashamed of in getting this far; thanks very much indeed for a worthy series of performances! Very well done St John's though; one of their best performances yet, puts them in great stead for the final; very very best of luck to them for it!

The stats: Ms McKeown was, just, the best buzzer of the night, with five, taking her series total to 25, while Mr Carson was Edinburgh's best with two, ending his side's campaign their best buzzer, with 19. On the bonuses, St John's converted a magnificent 26 out of 39, while Edinburgh managed 5 out of 12 (with the night's one penalty).

Next week's match: Merton vs Newcastle, for the right to fight St Johns.

Only Connect is nearly done for another series too, its last quarter-final tonight will hopefully be covered on here in the coming days.

University Challenge 2017-18: Semi-Finals Preview, plus announcement about future of reviews

Well, after a somewhat slow start in the first round, this year's UC has really come to life in the knockout round, and the momentum has carried on into the group stage, and hasn't totally run out yet in spite of some rather one sided matches.

And as a result, we have a pretty well balanced semi-finals roster:

• St John's College Cambridge (John-Clark Levin, Rosie McKeown, James Devine-Stoneman and Matt Hazell) Eased through the knockout rounds with comfortable victories over St Andrews and Corpus Christi of Cambridge; have slackened a bit in the group stage, but have still seen off strong challenges from Ulster and fellow semi-finalists Newcastle. Quite well balanced on the buzzer early on, Ms McKeown seems to have answered most of their starter in the QFs, but their bonus rate has been strong throughout.
• Merton College Oxford (Edward Thomas, Alex Peplow, Leonie Woodland and Akira Wiberg) Stormed through all of their matches with ease thus far, with victories over King's of London, Oxford Brookes, Fitzwilliam of Cambridge and fellow semi-finalists Edinburgh. Well rounded on the buzzer, not overly reliant on any one player, and strong on the bonuses too, plus the only team to get into four figures thus far, they would appear to be the team to beat.
• Edinburgh (John Heaton-Armstrong, Stanley Wang, Innis Carson and Phillipa Stone) Won their first two matches against Ulster and U.C.L. by just five points, and their first QF against Emmanuel of Cambridge by just fifteen; were then comfortably beaten by Merton, but recovered by a steady victory over Bristol. Again, have no real stand out buzzer, all contributing well, and their bonus rate has been steady too.
• Newcastle (Jack Reynard, Molly Nielsen, Jonathan Noble and Adam Lowery) Started slowly against Sheffield Hallam, then hit their stride in the second round against Southampton and the prelims against Bristol; were then narrowly taken over by St John's, but recovered with a strong win over Fitzwilliam to secure a first BBC era semi-final place. Again, the team generally share the starters evenly, and their bonus work has been steadily decent as well.

In fact I've just realised, if Fitzwilliam had won on Monday, we'd have had the exact same line-up as last series: two Cambridge teams, one Oxford team and Edinburgh!

Well, the draw for the semi-finals has kept the two straight-through-comers apart, and kept teams that have already played apart, giving us a line-up of: St John's vs Edinburgh and Merton vs Newcastle. Going into the group stage knowing that would be the semi-final line-up, you'd have been daft to bet against a fifth Oxbridge final in a row, and that would probably still be the most likely outcome, but I'm not so sure. Let's take a look at both fixtures in greater detail look shall we?

Well, St John's simply ran riot throughout the knockout rounds, but seemed to not be as imperious in the semi-finals, doing most of the work against Ulster in the first half, and then only just overcoming a resurgent Newcastle. Edinburgh, meanwhile, seemed to have saved their best performances thus far for their last two games, looking respectable in the Merton defeat and then pulling their best showing out of the hat against Bristol. If they can continue that form, they could well spring a giant killing (and thus become the first Scots side to reach the final since 1984!). Mind you, St John's do have the stats in their favour, having accumulated more over four than Edinburgh have over five, and will have had an extra day off to rest before the semis.

Meanwhile, Merton have been imperious in all four matches thus far, and are, as I say, the only team to break four figures thus far, and have the most prolific starter answerer of the series thus far in Mr Peplow. However, they have drawn perhaps the form team of the group stage in Newcastle, who seem to have been steadily improving across the series and certainly seem to have the momentum. Plus, the Oxonians' win over Edinburgh was their lowest scoring thus far. Certainly, it would be the upset of the series if Newcastle manage to pull off a victory here, but you'd still be daft to bet against a Merton side who have, again, accumulated more over fewer games.

What I'm saying is, anti-Oxbridgers shouldn't get too excited about the prospect of an Edinburgh-Newcastle final, but nor should they dread a St John's-Merton final too much. Neither of these matches are as big foregone conclusions as some might believe, and we have had big upsets in the semi-finals of a series using the round robin format before. Plus, Edinburgh and Newcastle have both won matches you'd have called them the underdogs in before, they could quite easily do it again.

Whatever happens, I can only hope that the momentum the series has steadily built up since the first round doesn't run out, and we get an excellent trio of matches to end what could well be the final series I blog in this much depth.

Yep, I might as well tell you now: my preliminary decision for next series is to merge by UC and OC reviews into one shorter less detailed blog on Monday evening. The reviews have, as you may have been able to tell, become a lot harder for me to do as of late for a variety of reasons, so this change  may well resurrect the standard of my writing. It would also allow me to move on from the various stock phrases I've fallen into the habit of using over the past few years.

As I say, it's just a preliminary decision, nothing set in stone yet. I may well come back from the Spring recess feeling a lot fresher after a couple of months off and want to write a lot again. We shall see. I shall reserve making a final call until these current series are over.

Anyway, best of retrospective luck to the four UC semi-finalists, all of whom would be worthy series winners; here's to three excellent matches to finish the series!

Only Connect Series 13: Play-Off Quarter-Final 1: Detectives vs Vikings

OK, with OC being a week behind UC, and doing its QF process in a different order, I've been finding it hard to keep track of where we are with OC. But now I know exactly where we are: four left after tonight, and we finish up one week later than UC does.

Playing last night were the Detectives, Ian King, Tim Harrison and captain Tim Hall, who have beaten the Theatricals, the Arrowheads and the Beaks on a tie break, but have also been beaten by the Escapologists, and the Vikings, Mark Oxley, John Wilson and captain Mick Lee, whose victories thus far have been over the Geocachers, the Parishioners and the Vikings, but a defeat to the Inquisitors is in there too.

Round 1. The Detectives kicked the match off with Twisted Flax: '12.5 mile stretch of A52, 2005', then 'Phoenix Way, Coventry, 2017'; they came in here and suggested that the roads were all renamed after football stadiums in those years, not correct. Their opponents saw 'Portman's Walk, Ipswich, 1999' and 'Warwick Road North, Manchester, 1993', and correctly said they were named after football managers for a bonus. For their own first question, the Vikings chose Lion: 'Collide and work together', then 'Joist and complete for superiority'; they suggested here that changing the I in the first word to a U gives a word meaning the latter, and collected three good points there. The Detectives chose Horned Viper next: 'Railway', then 'Lonely', then 'Little wheel', and finally 'Twenty-one'. They picked up their first point, identifying them as the translations of the French names of card games. The Vikings chose Two Reeds next, and got the picture set: we saw a djembe drum, then a map with Djibouti highlighted, then Jamie Foxx as the title character in Django Unchained; they were timed out here before they could offer anything. Their opponents saw Novak Djokovic as the final clue, and spotted the link for a bonus. For their own question, the Detectives chose Eye of Horus: 'Vic Wild', then 'Roy Jones Jr', then 'Steven Seagal'; they saw that they were all granted Russian citizenship, and collected two points. Left with Water, and the music question, the Vikings heard Debussy's 'Poissons D'or', then 'Too Many Fish in the Sea' by the Marvelettes, then an excerpt from Bizet's 'The Pearl Fishers'; they suggested them to all be by 'The Three [something]', not right. Their opponents heard Bing Crosby singing 'Gone Fishin'', but couldn't see the connection for a bonus. At the end of the first round, the teams were tied on 4-each.

Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Detectives opened with Lion: 'Lord Northcliffe', then 'The Astor family', and then 'Roy Thompson'. They suggested 'News International', which was correct, though they didn't get the right reason: they are the owners of The Times newspaper. The Vikings chose Water next: '4: New Zealand', then '3: Burundi', and then '2: Panama'. They didn't get there, their opponents did: they are countries with that number of stars on their flag, so '1: Morocco', as offered by them, would be acceptable. For their own question, the Detectives chose Two Reeds: '9th September 1981', then '1st January 2001', and then '2nd February 2004'. They saw it to be '3rd March 2009' for the points, the sequence being days which when written as 'DD/MM/YY', would spell out a square root sum. The Vikings chose Eye of Horus next, and got the picture set: we saw writer Aaron Sorkin, then Abraham Lincoln, and then Acker Bilk. They identified their first names as beginning Aa, Ab and Ac, so offered 'Adele' as an acceptable answer for the two points. For their final choice, the Detectives chose Twisted Flax: 'Boston', then 'Ter-Ovanesyan =', and then 'Beamon'. They saw them to be holder of the men's world long jump record, so offered 'Powell' for the points. ('Lewis' would have been acceptable, provided 'world record' wasn't mentioned, his having been chalked off as wind assisted) Left with Horned Viper, the Vikings saw 'Adult', then 'Horrific', and then 'X'. They saw it to be BBFC certificate ratings, but their offer of '18' was wrong. So was their opponents' of 'R'. 'R18' would complete the set! At the end of the second round, the Detectives led 11-6.

On to the Walls. The Vikings went first here, and chose to tackle the Water wall. After spotting some potential links, isolating sets proved somewhat difficult at first. Eventually, they isolated 'Xebec', 'Clipper', 'Hoy' and 'Ketch', which are sailing boats, followed in short order by 'Rock', 'Jericho', 'Pine' and 'Evert', which are surnames of famous people called Chris. After that, everything fell into place on their first go: 'Junk', 'Chain', 'Fan' and 'Royal' can all precede 'mail', while 'Bachelor', 'Caravel', 'Chandelier' and 'Verdict' all have the names of composers hidden in them. A well worked full ten there.

The Detectives thus set to work on the Lion wall requiring similar to maintain a similar lead. Their first set came slightly quicker: 'Perfect', 'Irrational', 'Real' and 'Complex' are types of number. But that was all they could figure out, so they had to try for connection bonuses: 'Cardinal', 'Bishop', 'Loon' and 'Booby' are birds, which they knew, 'Abbot', 'Prior', 'Oblate' and 'Primate' are religious occupations, which they got close enough to, while 'Long', 'French', 'Brand' and 'Porter' are surnames of female comedians. Four points there, which meant they now trailed 16-15 going into the final round.

So, Missing Vowels would decide who took the penultimate semi-final place. 'Trios' was split 2-each. 'Events and their months', which saw 'GROUNDHOG DAY AND FEBRUARY' come up twice(!), was also split 2-each. 'Works by Michaelangelo' went to the Detectives 3-1. 'Non-cricketing fielding positions' went to the Vikings 2-0 with the two clues there was time for. The Vikings had snuck home 23-22!

Another fine match, very well done both teams on some fine quizzing. Unlucky Detectives, but a fine series of showings, thanks very much for playing. Well done Vikings though, and best of luck in the semi-finals!

Next week's match: a rematch between the Eco-Warriors and the Escapologists.

University Challenge 2017-18: Play-Off Quarter-Final 2: Newcastle vs Fitzwilliam

Evening all. In a week when I've made a preliminary decision about the future of this blog, which I will hold back on revealing until a later date as it's not set in stone yet. I would, however, like an apology from the continuity lady for mistakenly announcing another program at the start, leaving me panickingly checking to make sure the show was actually on! It was, and whoever won would take the final place in the semi-finals.

Newcastle started slowly against Sheffield Hallam in the first round, but then comfortably defeated Southampton in the second and Bristol in the preliminaries, only to narrowly lose out to St John's in the qualifiers. Playing for a first semi-final placing under Paxo at least were the unchanged foursome of:
Jack Reynard, from Leeds, studying Medicine  
Molly Nielsen, from London, studying Medicine  
Captain: Jonathan Noble, from Newcastle, studying for a PGCE  
Adam Lowery, from Sunderland, studying Chemistry

Fitzwilliam College Cambridge scored 200 in their first two matches against Leicester and Magdalen of Oxford, then were undone by Merton in the preliminaries, recovering nicely with a close win over Emmanuel in the eliminators. Also vying for a first semi-final placing of the BBC era were the also unchanged quartet of:
Theo Tindall, from Backwell near Bristol, studying Russian and Arabic
Theo Howe, from Forest Hill in Oxfordshire, studying Japanese Studies
Captain: Hugh Oxlade, from South Woodford in London, studying History
Jack Maloney, from Harpenden in Hertfordshire, studying Medicine

Off we set again then, and Mr Noble set the ball rolling for the night identifying Paxo's description of various golfing terms; bonuses on chairs gave the Tynesiders two correct answers to start with. An unfortunate penalty saw Fitzwilliam lose five, but Newcastle failed to pick it up. Another starter was dropped, before Mr Reynard took a second for his side, and a full bonus set on early Tory prime ministers, including the old chestnut of the only assassinated PM Spencer Percival, went their way too. Five of those points were then lost to a penalty, allowing Mr Tindall to move Fitzwilliam back into positive integers, and they too took two bonuses, on mathematical curves. The first picture round, on electrocardiograph traces, went to Newcastle, with one of their resident medics Ms Nielsen doing the honours, but only one of the bonuses could go with it. Nonetheless, they still led healthily 55-15.

That lead was lessened somewhat by another slip-up, but Fitzwilliam were unable to take advantage. A good shout from Mr Noble recouped the losses though, and poetry about battles gave them two correct answers. Mr Maloney pulled one back for Fitzwilliam with a good prompt piece of arithmetic, and his side took a full bonus set, a good old school UC set on pairs of place names where the final letters of the first begin the second. Ms Nielsen then killed off any momentum they may have gained from it by taking 'vestigial' as the next starter, but nothing came from the bonuses.

The music round, on recordings by Dame Myra Hess, went to Newcastle, who took two correct answers this time, which increased their lead to 100-40. That lead increased when Ms Nielsen appeared to take an educated guess of 'Renoir' on the next starter; bonuses on dinosaur fossils followed, giving them just the one correct answer. The points for it were then lost to a slip-up, allowing Fitzwilliam to take possession; their reward was a tricky bonus set requiring any year a given Chinese emperor was in power, of which they did well to take one. Back came Newcastle with Mr Noble providing 'Jung', and a pair of bonuses went with it, putting them in command heading into the final third.

The second picture round, on portraits of assassins, went to Fitzwilliam, who took two correct answers, including a second mention of Spencer Percival, reducing their arrears to 130-75. But when the Cambridge side lost five on the next starter, and Mr Noble took it for Newcastle, and two bonuses went with it, that was most likely game over.

As if to make sure, Mr Noble provided 'Richard III' for the next starter, and another good bonus set, on words that begin and end with the same letters, gave the Tynesiders ten further points. Their lead was now 100 points, and getting bigger as Ms Nielsen won the buzzer race to say 'antibiotics' for the next starter; just one bonus followed, but it didn't really matter by now, just a question of how much both sides could score. Mr Maloney did the right thing and took a flyer on the next starter, but was beaten by a swerve, losing five, and handing Mr Lowery the honours; two bonuses, including a frankly brilliant arithmetical shout that was deservedly applauded, took them past 200. No time for the next starter to be answered; at the gong, Newcastle won 205-65.

Another good match despite, again, being one-sided, but as Dave C. said recently, even the weaker UC matches are better than average episodes of other quizzes. Unlucky Fitzwilliam, who were simply outbuzzed tonight, but no shame in going out here after a fine series of performances, thanks for giving us them! Very well done to Newcastle though, and very very best of luck in the semis!

The stats: Mr Noble was the best buzzer of the night with six to his name, while Mr Maloney was best for Fitzwilliam with two, ending their run their best buzzer with 18 overall. On the bonuses, Newcastle converted a respectable 20 out of 36, while Fitzwilliam managed an also decent 8 out of 12, with both sides incurred three penalties.

Next week's match: the first semi-final! Between St John's vs Edinburgh, followed by Merton vs Newcastle. A preview coming up in the coming days.

As, hopefully, is my review of tonight's Only Connect, the first play-off QF. And watch out for Paxo hosting HIGNFY on Friday night! Yep, he's finally agreed to do it it would seem!