University Challenge 2018-19: Round 1: Match 3: Pembroke vs Downing

Evening all. What started as a nice day, a good antidote to the rather wet and windy weekend, seems to have developed back into rain now. So I guess its down to UC to brighten up the evening again. After the storming (not sure if pun intended) start to the series, hopes are high going into the first Oxbridge match of the series, ignoring the fact that the third game of the series has been rather one sided for the past two series. What next? Let's see...

Pembroke College Oxford was founded in 1624, and it's alumni include Samuel Johnson of the Dictionary, James Smithson of the Smithsonian and Lord Heseltine of the House of Lords. Unlike its Cambridge namesake, it hasn't featured much in the BBC series, only appearing twice before, most recently in the Gail Trimble series of 08-09, where they were beaten in the play-offs. This year's foursome were:
Connor McGurk, from Sedgwick in Cumbria, studying Earth Sciences
Tom Lambert, from London, studying History and Spanish
Captain: Katherine Perry, from Birmingham, studying Theology
Louie Morris, from Kingston-upon-Thames, studying History

Downing College Cambridge was founded in 1800, and named after Sir George Downing, who built the street of the same name; its alumni include comedy legends John Cleese and Andy Hamilton, the late Michael Winner, and, if you remember a comment from this blog from last series, my Grandfather. It has been slightly more prolific under Paxo's watch, appearing five prior times, most recently in 2013-14. This year's quartet were:
Fergus O'Dowd, from Winchester, studying Linguistics
Jane O'Connor, from Dublin, studying Human, Social and Political Sciences
Captain: Yanbo Yin, from Beijing, studying Physics
Felix Prutton, from Wootton in Norfolk, studying Natural Sciences

Off we set again then, and Downing set the ball rolling for the night with Ms O'Connor identifying 'Prince', the big clue being the late musician. The Cambridge side took a full set of bonuses, only to then lose a third of the resultant points to a penalty; Mr McGurk picked up for Pembroke, and his side took one of their first bonuses. Another five went down the Downing drain, but their opponents did not pick this one up; Mr Morris took the next starter though, and bonuses on architecture gave them another correct answer. The first picture round, on road maps of European countries, went to Downing, who took a second full bonus set, and reclaimed the lead, 40-30.

Mr Yin, about to embark on a very profitable night, opened his account with 'Haydn', but, in contrast to their earlier sets, his side took none from a set on Iron Maiden's album 'Number of the Beast', much to the Twittersphere's disbelief! Mr McGurk pulled Pembroke back into the game, and his side drew level with two bonuses on biology. A penalty then gave Downing the lead back again; Mr Yin picked up, and they returned to form with a full set of bonuses. Another Pembroke slip-up, another Downing pick-up, and another full bonus set later, the Cambridge side suddenly had a 60-point lead.

The music round, on pieces whose manuscripts are housed in the British Library, went to Downing; none of the bonuses followed this time, but they now led 110-40. And it increased again when Mr Yin took a starter on his home country, and took two bonuses on philosophy, unluckily missing the other by a forename. The Cambridge captain firmly had the bit between his teeth, as he took his latest starter; just one bonus followed this time, but his side now had a 100+ lead. Mr Lambert finally broke Pembroke back into the game, with Paxo, unusually, not ticking him off for a slight pause before answering; the Oxford side duly took a full set of bonuses, showing that perhaps they weren't giving in yet.

The second picture round, on paintings from the Lady Lever gallery, went to Downing, who took one bonus, which increased their lead to 160-65. Another starter to the irrepressible Mr Yin, another full bonus set (one of which I took, 'Titan', thanks Red Dwarf!), and that was game over.

Now it was just a question of how much more either team could score. Mr Yin seemed determined to make sure his side got the better of that, as he promptly took yet another starter, and another two bonuses followed, giving the Cambridge side the highest score of the series thus far. And it got bigger when that man Yin took yet another starter, and yet another full house followed suit. Pembroke did take the final starter of the game, Ms Perry doing the honours, but her side could not take either of the two bonuses there was time for. At the gong, Downing won 230-75.

A game of two halves, close in the first half, then Downing ran away in the second. Unlucky Pembroke, a perfectly respectable team who didn't deserve to lose like that, and I suspect would've beaten another team; thanks very much to them for playing. Well done Downing though, and very best of luck to them in the next round!

The stats: Mr Yin ended the night by far the best buzzer, with NINE(!) starters to his name, while Mr McGurk was Pembroke's best with two (his colleagues all took one). On the bonuses, Pembroke converted a respectable 7 out of 14, while Downing managed a very decent 24 out of 36, and both sides incurred two penalties.

No match next week, we resume on the 13th.