University Challenge 2018-19: Elimination Quarter-Final 2: Darwin vs Emmanuel

Evening all. On we travel into the unknown with the second elimination quarter-final, and a Cambridge derby, between two teams I, in my infinite wisdom, both picked as semi-finalists; one still could be, the other couldn't as they'd be out. Apologies for any typos, as I cut my right index finger on a broken supermarket trolley last night and it's hurting a fair bit when I bend it.

Darwin College Cambridge rocketed through the knockout rounds, beating SOAS of London and Downing of Cambridge in the first and second rounds, but slipped up in their preliminary against Bristol, a low scoring affair which they lost on a tie-breaker. Hoping to make up for that and recover their earlier form were the unchanged foursome of: 
Stuart MacPherson, from Bothwell in South Lanarkshire, studying Physics  
Chris Davis, from London (originally California), studying Plant Sciences  
Captain: Jason Golfinos, from New York City, studying Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 
Guy Mulley, from Loughton in Essex, studying Law

Emmanuel College Cambridge narrowly lost their first match to fellow QFers Glasgow, but recovered via wins over King's of London and St Peter's of Oxford, before coming unstuck again against St Edmund Hall in the preliminaries. Hoping to bounce back again and not fall at the same stage they did a year ago tomorrow were the also unchanged foursome of: 
Connor MacDonald, from New Brunswick, Canada, studying Politics  
Vedanth Nair, from Kings Lynn, studying Economics  
Captain: Dani Cugini, from Warwick, studying English  
Ben Harris, from Bath, studying Geology

Off we set again then, and a prompt buzz from Mr MacDonald with 'Gladstone' opened the scoring for the night; bonuses on double numbered years saw Emmanuel take one bonus and unluckily miss another. Mr MacPherson duly sent Darwin off in quick pursuit, and bonuses on the critique of writer Kate Millett gave them two correct answers, and the lead. Which increased when Mr Golfinos, their top player in the earlier rounds, took his first starter of the night, unlocking a classic UC bonus set on pairs of names where the last letters of the first and the first of the second are the same, of which they took another two. The first picture round, on cities that have won the EU's Access City Award, went to Emmanuel, who also took two bonuses, cutting their gap to 40-35.

Darwin duly increased it again though, with Mr MacPherson identifying the opening words of Trainspotting (the novel), and another pair of bonuses followed with it. Mr Golfinos, with the bit in his teeth, was then very quick to identify Spain and Portugal as the signatories of the Treaty of Tordesillas, and almost singlehandedly banged out a full bonus set on Matilda of Tuscany. A second quick starter in a row went to the Darwin captain, which gave them another great UC bonus set asking to identify chemical elements from clues to a scientist whose initials are their chemical element; they took one of these. Mr Harris broke Emmanuel back into the game on the next starter; two bonuses followed, before Ms Cugini gave her side a second starter in a row, with the subsequent bonuses, on astronomy, bringing them within 25.

The music round, on singers often called 'the Godfather/mother of' their genre, went to Darwin, who took a full house of bonuses, increasing their lead to 125-75. Asked for a political figure born in Dublin in 1769, Mr Nair zigged with Nelson, Mr Golfinos zagged with Wellington, and Darwin took full advantage with a second successive full set. A quick buzz from Mr MacDonald brought Emmanuel back into the game though, and a full set of their own took them into three figures. Mr Golfinos wasn't to be stopped though, another quick starter, and yet another full set set his side on their way again.

The second picture round, on stills from non-US road movies, went to Emmanuel, who failed to add to their score, leaving the deficit at 175-110. Mr Harris did the right thing in going in quickly for the next starter, but dropped five, and Mr Golfinos picked up the drop; one bonus followed.

And when Mr Golfinos took the next starter, that was game over; two bonuses on cameos by Alfred Hitchcock went with it. Emmanuel went out fighting though, Mr Nair offering 'Einstein-Bose condensate', which Paxo decided was close enough for the points, and a full set of bonuses was taken in short order. Mr Mulley took the last starter of the game, and the one bonus there was time to answer they got right. At the gong, Darwin won 225-130.

A good high quality contest, well played both teams, shame this is an elimination match. Unlucky Emmanuel, but a fine series of performances, and an entertaining team to watch, thanks very much for playing! Well done Darwin though, another strong win over good opposition, and best of luck in the play-offs!

The stats: Mr Golfinos was, once again, the best buzzer of the night with eight, taking his running total to 36, one more than Mr Leo thus far, while Mr Harris was best for Emmanuel with three, though Messrs MacDonald and Nair were joint best for the series overall with 13 each. On the bonuses, Darwin converted a very good 23 out of 31, while Emmanuel managed an also decent 13 out of 21, with the night's one penalty.

Next week's match: the first play-off, which, unless I've been misinformed, will see Edinburgh vs Bristol, followed by Manchester vs Darwin.

Only Connect was awash with UC alumni tonight, with five out of six on the teams. Review coming up on Thursday I hope.