University Challenge 2019-20: Series Highlights

OK, time for my annual end of series review of another series of UC. After a somewhat slow start, the series proved to be a great one, with a very strong QF line-up and a very high quality series of matches to go with it.

Firstly, as usual, my pick for the first match of each round:

• First Round + Play-Offs: Some pretty good games here, but the two involving Sheffield, their defeats to Wolfson and Jesus, just about stand out.
• Second Round: Probably Corpus Christi's unexpectedly big win over Magdalen.
• Quarter-Finals: All great games here in one form or another: a tie between Wolfson vs Corpus Christi and Durham vs Imperial.
• The Final Three: Despite being rather one sided, I'd actually say the final was best.

I note that there weren't actually that many close matches, but there were some very high scoring ones. In fact, there were 25 matches where the teams broke 300 between them, compared to 20 last series and 24 the series before last.

Despite the strength of the two finalists, though, it was actually Trinity who acquired the highest score of the series, 300 against Manchester in the preliminaries, and the second highest, against Jesus in the play-offs. Which makes the achievement of the two finalists, who both beat Trinity comfortably in their one-on-ones, all the more impressive. Wolfson of Cambridge had the lowest score of the series, 40, while their Oxford namesakes had the second lowest, 45. Trinity's win over Manchester was also the highest aggregate of the series, 395.

Also, with no Oxford teams in the semi-finals, the first time since 2006-07, and two Cambridge teams there; some would consider that surprising considering Oxford had seven teams in this series and Cambridge just four (and one of the other two were unfortunate not to earn a second match). Five London teams made the series, including the eventual winners of course, while non English institutions were restricted to just Glasgow and Edinburgh.

And so to some choice highlights:

• Corpus Christi mistaking Jimmy Somerville for Sade!
• Birmingham vs Bristol and Wolfson vs St John's were both entertaining games in spite of their low scoring. ("Robert the Bruce?!")
• Courtauld were an entertaining team throughout their underdog run.
• Paxo getting annoyed at teams not knowing the theme to The Third Man.
• Me getting Mr Dick thanks to having seen my friend play him!
• Paxo bantering with Brandon about him finding it too easy!
• Mr Wang getting Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five after just a second of the intro!
• Neither team identifying the Commodore 64 (pretty sure my P1 class at school were one of the last to have one of those before it got chucked).
• "No point in sighing like that, he was wrong!"
• "729?" "Correct!" "Oh, b***** h***, well done!"

As usual, if you have any more worth a mention, do let me know...

Also, since Monday's final being contested by two all male teams has reignited the debate about gender imbalance on the show, here's my blog about it from a few years back.

So, that's it: another series in the bag. When the next series is coming, we don't really know. Usually, the series is recorded around the time when public gatherings were temporarily banned, we don't know if they managed to get the entirety of  the next series in the bag in time. Even if they didn't, I imagine we'll still get to see the shows they did manage, if any. Plus, Brain of Britain managed to at least start recording prior to the current lockdown, and it usually records just a few weeks behind schedule, so, we shall see.

Whenever the show does return, I'm in two minds about whether to return with full blogs, or try something a bit different, a bit streamlined. I'll still do full intros for both teams, and the usual starter and bonus stats, but maybe not a full blow by blow write-up. We shall see.

What I do plan, at some point in the hopefully not too distant future, is the review of the 2010s that I've been promising since the end of last year. Hopefully, I'll now get around to starting on that.

So, I'll hopefully be back with that soon; until then, sayonara...