Evening all. In case you missed it former UC winning captain James Devine-Stoneman was on this evening's edition of The Chase; he impressively made it home with £24,000 in his individual chase, but he and his sole teammate (who took -£4,000) got caught by (fellow UC alumnus Jenny Ryan) in the final chase. Anyway, the final second round contest, and what promised to be a good one,
between two teams who impressed in their first round matches against
high scoring opposition.
Magdalen College Oxford defeated the excellent York team 170-150 in a closely fought second round match way back in July, a nip and tuck contest that they won with a well timed flourish. They were the same four as that time:
Dominic Brind, from Hammersmith, studying History
Josie Dallas, from London, studying PPE
Captain: Alex Hardwick, from Wimbledon, studying Ancient Greek Crowd Psychology
Harry Strattan, from Sydney, studying Law
Corpus Christi College Cambridge booked their second round place a week earlier with a 195-140 win over Merton College Oxford, another match won on an impressive late spurt. They were also unchanged from first time around:
Alexander Russell, from Bristol, studying Japanese Studies
Will Stewart, from Peterborough, studying History of Art
Captain: Ian Wang, from Sale in Greater Manchester, studying English
Alex Gunasekera, from from Witney, studying Chemistry
Off we set again then, and Mr Wang was first off the mark for the night spotting various things linked by the word 'royal'; two bonuses on events of 1719 opened the night's scoring. A classic starter asked for the chemical element whose chemical symbol began the names of four different cheeses; Mr Russell knew it to be calcium (CA), and a further two bonuses were correctly taken. Mr Wang looked like he was guessing when he offered 'Jane Eyre' for the next starter, but was right; no bonuses came this time though. Mr Gunasekera provided the next starter's answer, which gave the Cambridge side a classic bonus set on anagrams of nationalities, of which they took two. The first picture round, on maps displaying the results of UK general elections, went to Corpus Christi; they correctly answered the same two bonuses I got right, which increased their lead to 90-0.
Magdalen finally got off the mark on the next starter, as Mr Hardwick identified the dancer Nureyev; one correct bonus followed. Mr Wang quickly snuffed out any chances of a run though as he took the next starter; again, two bonuses followed. Mr Brind took a second starter for Magdalen with 'sine and sino'; bonuses on Eswatini, or Swaziland as it is more commonly known, gave the Oxonians a full set of bonuses. Mr Russell pulled back for Corpus Christi though as he identified McDonald as the surname linking, among others, a Jacobite heroine (Flora); bonuses on winners of the Best Actress Oscar gave them, once again, two correct answers.
The music starter saw Mr Wang first to identify those perennial UC favourites Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five; the music bonuses, on winners of the Polar Music Prize, gave them just one correct answer this time, but they now led 145-40. And their lead was just increasing as Mr Gunasekera identified two of the three composers needed for the next starter; just one bonus on the work of James Joyce followed. Mr Wang was in next as he spotted a list of words that can precede 'trap'; normal service resumed for the Cambridge side as they took two bonuses on hydrocarbons. Mr Wang looked to be buzzing in with a guess on the next starter, but the right one came to him while his name was being called! Bonuses on EU capitals followed, of which, once again, two were answered correctly.
The second picture round, on photographs taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston, went to Corpus Christi; another two correct answers took their lead to 220-40. The game was over as a contest, it was now just a question of how high each team could get. The Cambridge side weren't letting up, as Mr Gunasekera took the next starter, and one correct bonus took them within sight of a 200+ lead.
The starter needed came thanks to Mr Gunasekera, giving them a bonus set on Israeli Nobel laureates, of which they took two. Finally, Magdalen got some more points on the board, with Mr Brind doing the honours, giving them a bonus set on early 19th century classical music, of which they took two correct. Mr Hardwick gave the Oxonians a second starter in a row, and one correct bonuses went with it this time. Mr Gunasekera took the last of the night for Corpus Christi; they took the second bonus and were gonged out on the third. Corpus Christi won 270-75.
A high quality contest and most enjoyable contest despite being one sided. Unlucky Magdalen, a much better team than that scorelines suggests, who were simply outplayed on the buzzer, but a fair effort, thanks very much for playing. Very well done Corpus Christi though, a second impressive showing against strong opponents, and very best of luck in the QFs!
The stats: Mr Wang was, just, the best buzzer of the night, with six starters to Mr Gunasekera's five, while Messrs Bring and Hardwick got two each for Magdalen. On the bonuses, Magdalen converted 7 out of 12, while Corpus Christi managed 24 out of 45.
Next week's match: the first quarter-final. My guess would be Manchester vs Trinity, followed by Wolfson vs Corpus Christi, but we shall see.
Only Connect's second play-off saw the Darksiders play the Forrests. An even contest in the first two rounds, a slighty better wall and a better Missing Vowls saw the latter win 27-20.
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