University Challenge 2022-23: Round 1: Match 5: Cranfield vs Royal Holloway

Good evening friends, and welcome back to JOW! Back to business as usual this week after the last two weeks, though I will maybe try to keep my write-ups slimmed down a bit for the rest of the first round at least. Tonight, as Paxo pointed out in his intro, two irregular visitors to the show returned for the first time in many years...

Cranfield University is appearing for the first time in exactly 20 series; last time around, its time made it all the way to the final, defeating the Leeds team of Jenny 'Vixen' Ryan and WWTBAM Thirteen Clubber Steve Kidd in the semis, before narrowly losing to Birkbeck. Its other three BBC era appearances were first round losses. This year's foursome were:

Jack Chivers, from Crawley, studying Business Administration with a focus on Performance Management

Raman Suri, from Essex, studying Water Engineering

Captain: John Joseph Stephenson, from Preston, studying Metals in Extreme Environments

Charlotte Keenan, from Northumberland, studying Safety and Human Factors in Aviation

 

Royal Holloway London is appearing for the first time in sixteen series; its last appearance in 2006-07 saw its team lose to Wadham of Oxford in the second round, the same stage its only other BBC era team fell at two series earlier. This year's quartet were:

Joel Abramovich, from Highgate in London, studying Biology

Joanna Brown, from North London, studying Creative Writing

Captain: George Harvey, from Dunmow in Essex, studying Physics

Micka Clayton, from Richmond (originally South Africa), studying Music and Neuropsychology

 

So, off we set once again then, and it was Ms Brown who took the first two starters of the night; the London side followed these up with one bonus from their first set and two from the second. Cranfield then responded with two starters of their own, including the first picture round, on proposed US states; two bonuses from each set gave them the lead, 40-35.

Mr Harvey quickly gave Royal Holloway the lead back with the next starter however, with one bonus following, only for Cranfield to go back in front with two starters and sole bonuses of their own. The London side then took a starter and the first full bonus set of the night, on time periods, which put them back in front. They also took the music round, on songs about train journeys, requiring the destination mentioned in the title rather than the act; two bonuses gave them a lead of 95-70.

A penalty set Cranfield back five, only for Mr Stephenson to bring them the points back immediately, but no bonuses followed. Royal Holloway did at least manage one from their next set, before Cranfield drew a blank on a second successive set. Which took us to the second picture round, on non-English language BAFTA Best International Programme nominees; Royal Holloway took that, and a full set to boot (or rather, Ms Brown did!), after which they led 135-85.

And when Ms Brown took a second starter in a row, and two bonuses followed, they were pretty much out of sight. Which left Cranfield with the job of running up as high a score as possible; Mr Stephenson took the next starter, but just one bonus followed (and they unluckily talked themselves out of the right answer to another), and a penalty pretty much ended their chances. They did take the final starter, and the one bonus there was time for at least. At the gong, Royal Holloway won 155-110.

A closely fought match, with the bonuses ultimately winning it for Royal Holloway. Well done them, and best of luck in the next round! Hard lines to Cranfield, but a fair enough effort, and if the bonuses had fallen better for them, it could've been a lot closer; thanks very much for playing.

The stats: Ms Brown was the best buzzer of the night with four, while Mr Stephenson and Ms Keenan got three each for Cranfield. On the bonuses, Cranfield managed 8 out of 22 (with two penalties) and Royal Holloway 15 out of 24, so the same number of starters each, but the bonuses saw Royal Holloway through.

Next week's match: Glasgow vs Queen's Belfast

Only Connect’s fifth heat was contested by the Cunning Planners, Nic Paul, Hugh Williams (both of whom were on WWTBAM many years ago) and captain Iain Thoms, and the Seagulls, Noami Lask, William Bradley and captain Liam Agate (whose intro provided a very welcome mention of Otis the Aardvark!). The teams were tied on 3-each after the first round, before the Planners opened an 8-6 lead after the second. A better wall increased their lead to 18-11 going into Missing Vowels, which was very one sided in their favour; their final winning score was 27-11.

 

Mastermind’s second heat was a high scoring one, won by Ben Whitworth with 27 points, with blog reader and UC alumnus Keshava Guha coming second with 24. Anu Mitra (who gave us the very welcome SS of Laurel and Hardy films!) and Eleanor Jardine also competed, finishing with 20 and 17 respectively, both fine scores that could’ve won on other days.

 

Last week’s Brain of Britain, aired on Saturday night, was won by Mastermind and Counterpoint finalist Sarah Trevarthan, who broke away from the rest in the third round and ran out easily with 14 points, six ahead of second placed Jim Maginnis. Jo McEvedy and Rob Earnshaw (not that one I don’t think) also competed, finishing with 7 and 4.

 

This week’s BoB was won by recent UC and OC alumnus Gill Taylor, who also maintained a steady lead throughout, also boosted by a very strong third round, and won with 17 points, eight clear of Carol Bates in second. Scott Torrance and Carolyn Evans completed the line-up with 8 and 5 respectively.

University Challenge 2022-23: Round 1: Match 4: Coventry vs Cardiff

Good evening friends, and welcome back. Another very sad day for the nation today, so another shorter than usual blog out of respect. Tonight's UC pitted a university making its debut on the show against one that's appeared plenty of times before, but not done all that well.

Coventry University, formerly Lanchester Polytechnic and Coventry Polytechnic, is the debuting institution, and in years gone by, would be the only 'new' university in this series; not this year, as we know at least two more will be showing up in the coming weeks. The first ever Coventry UC team were:

Dino Buratti, from Bromsgrove, studying Automotive Journalism

Kirsty Harrod, from South London, studying Ancient Greek

Captain: Aksshat Goel, from New Delhi, studying English Literature

Meredith Whiting, from Warwickshire, studying Environmental Management and Sustainability

 

Cardiff University, formerly part of the University of Wales, has appeared on seven previous BBC UC series, but has only gotten past the first round on two of those occasions, and only actually won three matches in that time as well; last appearance was a first round defeat five series ago. This year's quartet were:

John Wimperis, from Stroud, studying News Journalism

Will Balkwill-Western, from North Devon, studying Chemistry

Captain: Zoe Revell, from Cardiff, studying Maths

Ella Freeman, from Cardiff, studying Psychology

 

So off we set once again, and after a false start, Mr Buratti gave Coventry their first ever UC correct answer, followed by two bonuses. Cardiff followed them off the mark, and the sides exchanged starters for a bit, so that after the first picture round, on flags of capital cities, they were tied on 40-each. After that though, the Welsh side began to pull away on the buzzer; Coventry did halt them by taking the music round, on pop songs whose titles are written in lower case, which cut their deficit to 95-60.

That would sadly be their lot however, as Cardiff ran away with it on the buzzer after that and, after the second picture round, on animals that first appeared during the Pliocene epoch, 185-60. Mr Buratti did the right thing and valiantly tried to buzz his side back into the match, but only managed to lose five a couple of times. In fact, Coventry were giving it a very good go, buzzing in several times; it's just that they weren't getting the right answers and Cardiff were. The Welsh side ran up their score higher in the final minutes and, at the gong, Cardiff won 230-50.

A one sided match, but another enjoyable one, two more pleasant teams. Well done to Cardiff, an impressive first performance and best of luck in the second round. Hard lines to Coventry, who gave it a good go and are I think a better team than that score suggests; thanks very much to them for playing.

The stats: Mr Balkwill-Western was the best buzzer of the night with six starters, while Ms Harrod was best for Coventry with two. On the bonuses, Coventry managed 6 out of 9 (with two penalties) and Cardiff 20 out of 39.

Next week's match: Cranfield vs Royal Holloway London

Only Connect was contested by the Cryptics, Jade Harvey, Padraig Sheehy and captain Molly O’Gorman, and the Strigiformes, Jonathan Taylor, Joshua Mutio and captain Jonathan Williams, who you may remember as ¾ of the Birkbeck team who reached the QFs of UC a couple of series back. Their opponents led 9-3 after the first round however, helped by the first five pointer of the series, and 12-6 after a more evenly scored second round. Two tough walls left the Cryptics’ lead at 17-10 going into Missing Vowels, and despite a valiant recover from the Strigiformes, they just about held on to win 18-16.

 

Mastermind’s first episode of the new series was a very high scoring affair, with Ben Spicer winning with 26 points and one pass, compared to the 26 and two passes of second place Ruth Gibbons. Alexia Jarvis and Davey Garrett completed the line-up with 25 and 23.

 

No Brain of Britain this afternoon, but the originally planned episode is still currently scheduled to air in the usual late night Saturday repeat slot. If that is the case, summary of it coming up next week alongside next Monday’s planned new episode, hopefully.

University Challenge 2022-23: Round 1: Match 3: L.S.E. vs University

Good evening friends, and welcome back. Obviously, this is a very sad time for the nation, so, out of respect, this week's write-up will be a bit shorter than usual, and next week's as well, assuming the show goes ahead next week as currently scheduled. So, here we go...

The London School of Economics has appeared eight times on the BBC series before, reaching the semis in 97-87 and being runners-up in 95-96; its last appearance was a first round exit three series ago. This year's team were:

Dominic Ede, from Milton Keynes, studying the Philosophy of Science

Laurent Balt, from Cape Town, studying Development Studies

Captain: Ali Hassan, from Lahore, studying Development Studies

Hannah Brown, from Suffolk, studying History

University College Oxford won the original show twice in the 1970s; it also reached the semis in 2000-01, before vanishing for twenty years before appearing in the last two series, going out in the first rounds of both. This year's foursome were:

Alex Wallop, from London, studying Chemistry

Leah Fogarty, from Hertfordshire, studying Biomedical Sciences

Captain: Ansa Cunanan, from Orlando, Florida, studying History

Alice Chakraborty, from London, studying Classics and English

 

So off we set again, and Mr Hassan took the first starter for L.S.E., with two bonuses following. University took the next three starters however, including the first picture round, on gulfs, after which they led 50-20. L.S.E. briefly halted their run, but a further run of starters, Mr Cunanan in particular having an impressive game, meant that after the music round, on trombone solos, they had increased their lead to 95-35.

Two successive penalties, the first two of the series no less, halted University's momentum slightly, with L.S.E. picking up one of these, but a further three starters and two successive full sets of bonuses, including the second picture round, on dinosaur skeletons discovered during the 'Bone Wars', increased their lead to 150-55 and as good as put the game to bed. L.S.E. did pull back nicely in the final minutes, and deservedly reached three figures, but University were always too far ahead to be caught. At the gong, University won 175-110.

Another enjoyable contest. Well done University, Mr Cunanan especially impressive, and best of luck next time. Hard lines to L.S.E., who score I fear won't be enough for the repechage, but they put up a respectable effort; thanks for playing.

The stats: Mr Cunanan was easily the best buzzer of the night with an impressive eight starters, while Messrs Balt and Hassan were best for L.S.E. with two each. On the bonuses, L.S.E. managed 10 out of 15, and University 16 out of 33 (with three penalties).

Next match: Coventry, making its debut on the show, vs Cardiff

Only Connect was contested by the Peacocks, Alan Peters, Paul Singh and captain Lizzie Biscuits, and Mothers Ruined, Jo Barker, Veronica Smith and captain Katrina Austin. The former led 5-3 after the first round, and an equal scoring second round meant they led 9-7 afterwards. A better wall allowed Mothers Ruined to take the lead 17-14 going into Missing Vowels, and they maintained that lead to win 22-17.

 

Brain of Britain was won by Quizzy Mondays alumnus Ned Pendleton, who led throughout and ran away in the second half of the show to win with 18 points. UC legend Gail Trimble finished second with 9, which sadly probably won’t be enough for a highest scoring runner-up place. Alison Jay and Roger Bowen completed the line-up with 7 and 3 respectively.