University Challenge 2020-21: Round 1: Match 13: Edinburgh vs Manchester

Greetings friends, and here we are at the penultimate UC first round match. The first of three weeks too where we have a full quartet of Quizzy Mondays going, with Mastermind back tonight and Brain of Britain on its third SF, won, very narrowly, by Graham Barker of Only Connect and WWTBAM fame. On with UC first, with the teams needing 145 or more to come back win or lose, and Paxo rather offputting many by wearing a pair of specs! (Pretty sure he wore them on HIGNFY as well)

Edinburgh is the second most ubiquitous institution of the BBC era, appearing in its 20th series tonight; four of those previous 19 were semi-final defeats, and, of course, they won the show two series ago. This year's team were:

Zak Jeffcoat, from Edinburgh, studying Architectural History

Matthew Fricker, from Shipley in Yorkshire, studying Maths and Physics

Captain: Niamh Clarke, from Hollywood, County Wicklow, studying Physics with Meteorology

Nicholas Winter, from London, studying Maths

Manchester is the joint third most ubiquitous BBC series entrant, making its 19th tonight; three of those were series victories, two more were runners-up (with one later being upgraded to winners after that incident that we do not speak of), and another five SF exits. This year's quartet were:

Ralph Scott, from Aberystwyth, studing Politics

Patrick Jones-O'Brien, from State College, Pennsylvania, studying Linguistics and Social Anthropolgy

Captain: Alex Spacey, from Fareham in Hampshire, studying History

Andrew Snedden, from Godalming, studying Neuromuscular Disease

Off we set, and Manchester set off first with Mr Spacey identifying 'Jane Eyre', and the side setting out their stall with a full bonus set on statues of composers. Mr Snedden gave them a second starter in a row, and they backed it up with a second full set. Off set Edinburgh with Mr Jeffcoat setting them off, and they showed they too were well up for it with a full bonus set of their own. The first picture round, on locations of piers named Pier of the Year, gave Manchester the fourth full set of the night and a lead of 75-25.

The bonus record ended on the next set, as Edinburgh only (I say only) managed two of a set on European royal houses. Just one came from their next set, before Mr Scott identified Kevin Phillips as the only Englishman to win the Golden Boot (even more impressive given he was at Sunderland at the time!); their bonus record didn't let up, a full house on US states. Back came Edinburgh with two starters and single bonuses in a row, including the music round, on songs written by Dorothy Fields, which cut the gap to 100-90.

But then Manchester switched into gear, and, even though their bonus rate spectacularly ended as they dropped a full set on physics, began to run away on the buzzer. Mr Spacey identified Tennessee Williams' real name, and the resulting bonuses gave them two correct answers. Highlight of this run was Mr Snedden getting 'Sikhism' for the starter and then single handedly sweeping up a full set of bonuses on medical terms. Suddenly, the Mancunians had racked up a 100 point lead; Edinburgh broke back with the second picture round, on paintings inspired by the Cirque Fernando in Montmartre, which took the scores to 190-105.

But when Mr Spacey took the next starter, that was game over, even though they missed all the bonuses. Which left Edinburgh with the job of racking up a score good enough for the play-offs; Ms Clarke got them on their way by remembering David Edward's Million Pound Question of 'quercus robur' to be the Oak, and two bonuses aided their cause. Another starter from Mr Fricker and full set of bonuses gave them the points they needed. At the gong, Manchester won 200-155.

A great match between two good sides, both of whom fully deserve their respective returns. Well done to both, an excellent contest!

The stats: Mr Spacey was the best buzzer of the night with five starters, while Mr Jeffcoat and Ms Clarke were joint best for Edinburgh with three each. On the bonuses, Edinburgh managed 14 out of 27 (with a late pedantic penalty) and Manchester 20 out of 30.

Next week's match: Magdalene College Cambridge vs University College Oxford

Only Connect pitted the Sliders, Richard John, Sarah Johnson and captain Rachel Munro, against the Ticket Collectors, Patrick Winterbottom, Ellie Matthewman and captain Jordan Dias. A rather lower scoring contest than the first two, the Sliders led 4-2 after the first round, and 6-3 after the second. The walls were similarly tough, a half better performance giving the Sliders a 10-5 lead going into Missing Vowels, and they maintained it in the final round for an 18-9 victory.

 

And extraordinary scenes on the first episode of the new series of Mastermind, where three contenders finished tied on 21 each, giving possibly the first ever triple tie-breaker! Tom Lee won the tie-breaker 4-3-2 and shall return for the semis. I won’t give Mastermind much of a review here beyond the winner, their score and winning margin, unless something quite memorable happens.