Christmas University Challenge 2021: Matches 1-5 (Monday 20th - Friday 24th)

Greetings friends! Hope you all had a good Christmas; mine personally didn't feel all that great, but wasn't that bad now I'm looking back on it today.

Anyway, on with Christmas UC. You'll remember last year I reviewed it in one big blog, which was a change from my usual doing it in two halves; this wasn't deliberate, I just forgot to do it after the first week. But I've remember this year, so, let's do this:

Monday 20th: Edinburgh vs Leicester

Edinburgh: Cath Slessor, Thomasina Miers, Miles Jupp, Phil Swanson

Leicester: Jeffrey Boakye, Sian Lloyd, Dallas Campbell, Andrew Shepherd

Well, they sure picked a good one to start with! Both teams performed excellently, but ultimately, Edinburgh were worthy of their 160-125 victory, which ensures they will be returning this coming week.

Tuesday 21st: Winchester vs Bradford

Winchester: Nicole Farley, Mike Bushell, Shappi Khorsandi, Dirk Maggs

Bradford: Anthony Finkelstein, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Martin Roberts, David Cowling

This quickly turned into Mr Maggs vs Mr Finkelstein, the former answering all of his team's starters, the latter all but one of his team's. Bradford were ultimately the deserved winners, 130-95, and might come back this week...

Wednesday 22nd: Bristol vs King's Cambridge

Bristol: Lucrezia Millarini, Camilla Pang, Aasmah Mir, Mark Ravenhill

King's: Mike Braddick, Tom Shakespeare, Shahidha Bari, Kate Whitley

A game of two halves, with Bristol having the better of the first before King's managed to break in in the second, and ultimately won the game 125-95; sadly, this won't be enough for a return this week.

Thursday 23rd: LSE vs Hertford Oxford

LSE: Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, Fatima Manji, Robert Elms, Ollie Cook

Hertford: Soweto Kinch, Elizabeth Norton, Adam Fleming, Isabelle Westbury

This match was probably closer than its final scoreline suggests, with Hertford not eking out that big a lead until later on in the game; they ended up winning 130-75, which might get them back this week, though how they'll decide who goes through out of them and Bradford if a tie occurs, I don't know.

Friday 24th: Corpus Christi Cambridge vs St Anne's Oxford

Corpus Christi: Hazel Moore, Helen Oyeyemi, Robert McCrum, Philippe Sands

St Anne's: Sarah Gristwood, Roma Agrawal, John Robins, Adam Parsons

A great match to end the week on, with the two teams very closely matched throughout and the lead changing hands quite frequently. In the end, St Anne's just snuck in front at the end to win 145-130, securing a definite return this week.

So, Edinburgh and St Anne's are definitely coming back, while Bradford and Hertford are both on 130, and if I had to guess, I would say at least one of them will come back too, though how they'll decide which I, again, can't say for sure. Whatever the case, this was an excellent first week of the series, and hopefully the second will be just as good too!

I'll be back next week to review the second week; until then, have a safe and Happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2022!

Quizzy Mondays update 20/12/21

Greetings friends! So, we're into the festive fortnight now, which meant Christmas UC began tonight, anda most enjoyable contest it was too! Hopefully this time I'll remember to review it in two parts, one this weekend, the other next weekend.

For the other thirds of Quizzy Mondays though, it was business as usual tonight...

Only Connect ended its regular shows for the year with the last quarter final, between the Data Wizards and the Discotheques. The latter led 5-2 after the first round, and 6-5 after the second (I claim two points on the Eddie Murphy and flags questions). Seven each on the Walls (I claim £100 for getting the Dutch football clubs connection!) meant it was as you were, 13-12 going into Missing Vowels, which the Data Wizards fared better on to win 20-14.

 

Mastermind, meanwhile, was won comfortably by Sarah Trevarthen with 28 points, 7 ahead of UC alumnus Daniele Gibney in second with 21; Dev Kumar Patel and Sean Smith also competed, finishing with 14 and 13 respectively.

 

And that's it for both of them for the year; Only Connect has its now annual four specials next week, but Mastermind doesn't appear to be having its usual BBC1 celeb series this year. Both resume their regular series alongside UC on the 3rd of January.

 

So, hopefully, I'll be back on Sunday with a review of the first week of Christmas UC; until then, have a safe and Happy Christmas!

University Challenge 2021-22: Round 2: Match 7: Birmingham vs St Andrews

Good evening friends, and welcome to the final regular UC of 2021! We break for the usual two week Christmas break, during which we get daily Christmas UC of course, after tonight; hopefully I'll remember to review that in two parts this year! Only Connect and Mastermind will be business as usual next Monday, though, so I'll be doing a quick mini blog to cover them next Monday. On with tonight's business now though...

Birmingham ran up the second highest score of the second round as they trounced the unfortunate Sussex team 245-10. They were unchanged from that match: 

Mark McParlan, from Crosby near Liverpool, studying History and English

John Robinson, from Birmingham (originally Sevenoaks), studying Literature and Culture

Captain: Michael Joel Bartelle, from San Antonio, Texas, studying Shakespeare Studies

Jaimy Sajit, from Derby, studying Medicine

 

St Andrews were much narrower winners in their first match, 140-135, but their opponents Emmanuel were good enough to recover and reach the second round via the repechage. Hoping to join them were the also unchanged foursome of: 

Alastair Fennell, from Edinburgh, studying Experimental Physics

Harry Alderson, from Shelford in Cambridgeshire, studying Physics

Captain: Jack Wigg, from Glasgow, studying Maths

Aine McMenamin, from London, studying Classics

 

So off we set for the final time this year, and the first starter seemed bizarre at first, but Mr McParlan eventually spotted that Paxo was listing teams who competed in the first ever FA Cup; Birmingham took one bonus on medieval Britain. The second starter was one that suddenly became obvious; when 'first black woman on a US presidential ticket' was heard, Mr Bartelle duly supplied 'Kamala Harris', and two bonuses on Australian states were taken. A penalty dropped St Andrews into the minuses, and gave the Brum captain a second starter in a row, from which they took another sole bonus. The Scots side recovered by taking the first picture round, on pairs of flags of nations with shared languages; two correct cut their arrears to 50-15.

Back rose Birmingham though thanks to Mr Robinson, giving them a bonus set on French composers which they took just one of. St Andrews were now finding their buzzer fingers though, as Ms McMenamin took the next starter, giving them bonuses on German history which they got one correct of. A second starter in a row went to St Andrews, and a sole bonus was nonetheless sufficient to put them within twenty points. Mr Robinson took the next starter though, and a full bonus set meant they now had double their opponents' score. They also took the music round, on classical recordings made at the Columbia 30th Street Studio; one bonus correct took their lead to 105-45.

A very quick and well anticipated buzz from Mr Robinson only increased that score, giving Birmingham a rather complex bonus set on chemical symbols and physical quantities, which they impressively took a full house of. Mr Alderson gave a quick buzz of his own to get St Andrews back into the game; bonuses on terms beginning 'theo' gave the Scots side another sole correct answer. But another starter to Mr Robinson, a full bonus set on film, and a second starter in a row taken by Mr Bartelle meant Birmingham now had a three figure lead and were nearly home and safe; bonuses on ducks gave them one correct. The second picture round, on paintings depicting mental illness, also went to Birmingham; one correct bonus meant they now led 185-60, and were pretty much home and dry.

This was confirmed when Mr Fennell took a valiant early buzz on the next starter, but lost five; Ms Sajit took the points, though no bonuses followed. A second penalty for a 'just an' interruption dropped St Andrews back further, before what looked like an educated guess gave Mr Bartelle a starter that took Birmingham past 200 again; two bonuses were taken. Mr Robinson took the final starter of the game, but they couldn't add any further points before the gong; nonetheless, Birmingham won 225-50.

Another one sided but still enjoyable contest. Well done to Birmingham, another excellent performance, this time against a team we've seen are a capable outfit, marks them out as a team to watch; best of luck in the QFs! Hard lines to St Andrews, who we know can play better than that; thanks very much indeed for playing!

The stats: Mr Bartelle was just the best buzzer of the night with six starters to Mr Robinson's five, while Mr Alderson was best for St Andrews with two. On the bonuses, Birmimgham managed 19 out of 37 and St Andrews out of 12 (with three penalties).

And that's it for regular UC this year; the Xmas series starts next Monday, and we resume in the New Year with Exeter vs Imperial on the 3rd of January.

Only Connect pitted the Ramblers against the Muppets in the third quarter-final. The teams were level at 2-all after the first round, before the Ramblers opened a 5-3 lead after the second. Six points each on the wall left the lead at 11-8 going into Missing Vowels, which only increased the gap to give the Ramblers an 18-9 win.

 

Mastermind was won by Dom Walker with 24 points, with Claire Spinks second with 21 and Shajeev Wanigasekara just behind on 20; Ruth Joesbury also competed, finishing with 13. No Xmas celebrity editions on BBC1 this year though it looks like.

University Challenge 2021-22: Round 2: Match 6: King's vs Hertford

Good evening friends! Just two regular UCs left this year; tonight's match, then next week's, and then we take the usual two weeks off for Christmas UC, the teams and draw for which have been announced this past week. On with tonight's match then, and two teams we first met way back at the start of the series back in the Summer; winners would go through to the QFs...

King's College London trailed Glasgow for most of the first match of the series, before a timely late spurt saw them eke out a win of 115-100. They were the same foursome as before: 

Ananth Sathyanath, from between Southampton and Portsmouth, studying Medicine

Rachel Bedwin, from South East London, studying Developmental Biology

Captain: Ashad Rahid, from Daventry, studying Philosophy 

Oliver Beard, from South East London, studying the History of War 

 

Hertford College Oxford were more comfortable winners over the London Business School in their first match two weeks later, leading throughout and ultimately coming home 180-100 winners. They were also the same four as before: 

Matt Hitchens, from South London, studyign Philosophy

Bridget Donaldson, from Morpeth in Northumberland, studying Engineering

Captain: Matthew Lloyd, from Barnes in London, studying Physiology

Lucy Oswald, from Central London, studying Astrophysics

 

So off we set once again, and it was Mr Rashid who opened the scoring for the night with 'the Antarctic Treaty'; the London side opened the night with one bonus on George Orwell. The King's captain took a second starter in a row, followed by another single bonus, and then a third, which gave them a full set of bonuses on National Character Areas. The first picture round, on trios of US place names with shared name elements, also went to King's, this time Mr Sathyanath doing the honours; two correct answers took their lead to 75-0.

A penalty then handed Hertford a free shot at getting off the mark though, and, on hearing 'formerly represented by Andy Burnham', Mr Hitchens knew we were after 'Leigh'. Two bonuses on Timbuktu (from the makers of Timbukone...) got the Oxford side going, followed by a second starter in a row and two more bonuses on Nobel Prize winning relatives. A third starter in a row to the Oxonians, another pair of bonuses, and they'd cut the gap to just ten points. But then King's took the music round, on classical pieces influenced by jazz; one correct bonus upped their lead to 85-60.

Ms Bedwin then upped it further by taking the next starter, ensuring all four King's players had contributed a starter; no bonuses on astronomy were taken, though they were unlucky to twice swerve away from the right answer. Mr Rashid then took them into three figures with the next starter, and bonuses on the Mercury Prize proved more to the London side's liking, two correct. A second in a row to the King's captain, a full bonus set on words ending 'ulate', and King's were within sight of victory. They also took the second picture round, on self portraits in which the artist depicts themself as a religious figure; one bonus took their lead to 155-60.

And when Mr Rashid took the next starter, that was definitely game over; no bonuses followed, but you fancied it was too late for Hertford to catch them now even if they aced it from here on in. The Oxford side did manage a late rally to go out on though, Mr Hitchens taking two starters in a row, with two bonuses from the first set and one from the second. Mr Lloyd took the final starter of the game, and two bonuses were taken on words containing all five vowels only once, one of which was maybe after the gong, but it made no difference really. King's won 165-115.

A lower scoring game than the last few weeks, but still a pleasant and watchable one. Well done to King's, a fine performance on the buzzer, best of luck in the QFs! Hard lines to Hertford, who were visibly just beaten to the buzzer on quite a few occasions in the middle third especially, but still a respectable performance, thanks for playing!

The stats: Mr Rashid was the best buzzer of the night with six, while Mr Hitchens was best for Hertford with three. On the bonuses, King's managed 14 out of 30 (with the night's one penalty) and Hertford 11 out of 18.

Next week: the penultimate second round match, and the last regular game before we break for Christmas, featuring two of St Andrews, Exeter, Imperial and Birmingham (my source has told me the fixtures, but not a definite order yet)

Only Connect will also be having its now annual four festive specials, from the 27^th to the 30^th, but will be having a regular episode on the 20^th. Tonight’s second quarter-final saw the Golfers play the Scrubs. The former led 4-2 after the first round, and 6-3 after the second (I got the Scottish universities for two points). Two perfect walls (which I predicted as there wasn’t much time left after the second round!) left the scores at 16-13 going into Missing Vowels, which the Golfers comfortably aced to win 25-14.

 

Mastermind was narrowly won by UC alumnus Allister Mallon with 22 points, with Kevin Kilminster, having been last after the specialist rounds, producing a good recovery on GK, but just finishing short on 21. Jodie Manning and Laura Ellerton also partook, finishing with 17 and 18 respectively.