Well folks, here we are again: another University Challenge final. After a rather back and forth start, this series has proved to be a cracker, with a very strong quarter-final and semi-final line-up, culminating in a scintillating final pairing. Our finalists are:
Corpus Christi College Cambridge: Alexander Russell, Will Stewart, Ian Wang and Alex Gunasekera.
and
Imperial College London: Richards Brooks, Brandon, Caleb Rich and Connor McMeel.
So, no Oxford team in the final for the first time since the very first series I covered on here, 2012-13, and the first London team in the final since that series too. Imperial's first final since the 2001-02 series, and Corpus Christi's very first (AFAWK).
So, how did they get here? Corpus Christi narrowly saw off Merton of Oxford in the first round, then soundly defeated Magdalen of Oxford in the second round. Their first QF was a narrow win over Wolfson, their second an easy win over Trinity, and their semi-final was a relatively comfortable win over Durham. They have acquired 1,075 points over five games, an average of 215 per game.
Imperial reached the group stage with very comfortable wins over Brasenose of Oxford in the first round and St John's of Oxford in the second. Their QF victories were an easy one over Courtauld and a closer one over Durham, before their semi-final saw them acquire another very comfortable win, over Trinity. Their total score so far is 1,170, also over five games, an average of 234 per match.
So, what other stats are there to examine?
Well, Imperial also have also conceded fewer points, 445, an average of 89 per match, to Corpus Christi's 565, an average of 113 per match. Though, considering that Imperial have won all but one of their matches very comfortably, whereas Corpus Christi have had two that could be considered close, this isn't really that surprising.
Imperial have also answered four starters more than their opponents, 63 to Corpus Christi's 59, and more bonuses, 113 out of 183, compared to Corpus Christi's 99 out of 174, though, in percentage terms, Corpus Christi's rate is a bit higher.
Perhaps more crucial to the final, though, is the team's collegiate performance on the buzzer. So, far Brandon is Imperial's best buzzer with 32 starters, just two fewer than Mr Hughes of Trinity managed in one more game; next highest is Mr Rich on 13 and Mr Brooks on 11.
For Corpus Christi, however, Messrs Stewart, Wang and Gunasekera are all pretty much level on starters answered, with 17, 19 and 18 thus far respectively. This suggests they might be better equipped to cope if one has an off day than Imperial would be if Brandon does.
Lets face it, though, these two teams have both made it to the final pretty much the same way: by dominating on the buzzer; even against Trinity, another team who won very easily by doing that on multiple occasions, their better buzzing skill prevailed (if anything, the fact that the two teams' wins over Trinity were sandwiched between them defeating Jesus by a much bigger margin than either of their defeats, that makes it all the more impressive).
The two teams are pretty much level in terms of starters answered correctly, and in terms of the percentage of bonuses answered correctly. There really isn't a very great deal between them, and, honestly, it really will just be a case of which team the starters fall better for.
If you insist on a prediction, I'll go for an Imperial win, but a Corpus Christi win would definitely not surprise me at all. These are two really good well matched teams, either would be most worthy winners. Best of (retrospective) luck to both, here's hoping we get a great match to end the series on!
Back on Monday with my usual write-up of it.
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