University Challenge 2020-21: Round 1: Match 12: Warwick vs Wolfson Oxford

Good evening friends, and welcome to the anti-penultimate UC first round match! Mastermind is back next Monday, meaning, for three weeks only, we shall have a full round on Quizzy Mondays, as Brain of Britain is nearly done; today's second semi-final was narrowly won by Hugh Brady. On with UC, and the job for tonight's two teams: win, or failing that, lose with 150 or more to join Imperial in the repechage.

Warwick University is appearing in its 19th BBC series; it won the show in 2006-07, but its nine appearances since has seen its team go out in the second round seven times and the QFs twice. This year's team were:

Richard Pollard, from Cheshire, studying History and Politics

George Braid, from Brighton, studying Physics

Captain: Andrew Rout, from Bearsted in Kent, studying Maths

Owen Burrell, from Lancaster, studying English Literature

Wolfson College Oxford made its debut on UC last series, and what a debut it was, reaching the QFs with two tie-breaker victories along the way, before Durham put them out in the play-off QFs. This year's quartet were:

Grigore Gafencu, from Suceava, Romania, studying Medical Sciences

Brian Moore, form Dublin, studying English Literature

Captain: Johnny Knight, from Tokyo, studying Liguistics

Lorenzo Saccon, from Codroipo, Italy, studying Byzantine History

Off we set, and Warwick got off to a false start with a penalty; Wolfson picked up the points, and took a full bonus set on state of union addresses. The second and third correctly answered starters also went to the Oxonians, as did three of the six bonuses that came with them. 'Peter Grimes' allowed Warwick back into positive integers, and they took one of the bonuses on physics. The Coventry team also took the first picture round, on regions considered their country's equivalent of the Rust Belt, which took their deficit to 60-30.

A third starter in a row, taken by Mr Rout, plus two bonuses, pulled them within ten points, only for Mr Knight to pull Wolfson further ahead with a starter and a resulting full house of bonuses. Back came Warwick with a starter and full house of their own, and a second starter in a row pulled them level, only for them to miss all the bonuses on Pacific Island nations. The music round, on tracks from Classic FM's revision playlist, went to Wolfson; they too dropped all three bonuses, which left them ahead 95-85.

Warwick duly pulled level again with Mr Braid doing the honours, and a full bonus set on eye infections gave them the lead for the first time. Red flags gave them a second starter in a row and two correct bonuses, before Mr Rout gave them a third, but bonuses on winners of the BAFTA Rising Star award escaped them. Their lead was just increasing now, though, as Mr Rout took the next starter as well, and a pair of bonuses on English hill ranges gave them two correct. The second picture round, on paintings of Athena or Minerva, went to Warwick, who took another two bonuses to increase their lead to 180-95.

Wolfson finally reawoke with Mr Knight taking their first starter since the music round, but the Oxonians dropped all three bonuses on papal bulls. And when Mr Braid took the next starter, and two bonuses took the Coventry team to 200, that was game over. And Warwick weren't done yet, taking the remaining starters, lifting their score up to the joint second highest of the series so far. At the gong, Warwick won 255-105.

A good match that was close for the first half before Warwick ran away in the second half. Well done to them on recovering so well from a slow start, could be a team worth watching in the next round. Hard lines to Wolfson, a reasonable team who would likely have beaten another, thanks very much to them for playing.

The stats: Messrs Braid and Rout were joint best buzzers of the night with five each, while Mr Knight was best for Wolfson with three. On the bonuses, Warwick managed 24 out of 42 (with the night's one penalty) and Wolfson 9 out of 18.

Next week's match: Edinburgh vs Manchester

Only Connect now, and the second socially distant first round match pitted the Bridges, Michael Maybridge, Sally Maybridge and captain Tim Bridgstock, against the Whodunnits, Alan Hay, Lindsay Baumeister and captain Alan Flanagan. The Whodunnits had the better of it at first, leading 5-1 after the first round, but the Bridges fared better in the second, resulting in a 7-7 tie going into the Walls. Two very quickly solved perfect walls made it 17-17, and the Whodunnits just edged it in the Missing Vowels to win 25-21. Another good contest between two excellent teams who both deserve another go.