University Challenge 2022-23: Round 2: Match 5: University vs Jesus

Good evening again friends, and welcome back to Quizzy Mondays! This might be a slightly shorter blog than usual tonight, as my wrist is a bit stiff after spending the half hour before the show trying to quickly do the next update of the current Robot Wars Wiki tournament. But anyway, we're halfway through the second round, and whoever won tonight would take the fifth place in the second round.

University College Oxford were comfortable winners over the L.S.E. in their first match, leading almost throughout and winning in the end 175-110. They were unchanged from that game: 

Alex Wallop, from London, studying Chemistry

Leah Fogarty, from Hertfordshire, studying Biomedical Sciences

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

Alice Chakraborty, from London, studying Classics and English 

 

Jesus College Cambridge beat another Oxford team, St Catherine's, in their first round contest, also leading throughout and winning by a very strong margin of 225-105, the second highest score of the round. They were also the same four as before: 

Josh Kaye, from North West London, studying Maths

Juliet Tindall, from Birmingham, studying Spanish and Portuguese

Captain: Hamish MacGregor, from Cambridge, studying Cancer Genetic Epidemiology

Sumit Aggarwal, from London, studying Engineering

 

So, off we set once again then, and Mr Aggarwal quickly set Jesus off the mark first, but a bonus set on words associated with British soap operas didn't give them any extra points (though they came close on a couple of them). A second starter to the Cambridge side, from Mr MacGregor, gave them a bonus set more to their liking, which they took two from, before another from Mr Kaye was followed up by another pair of bonuses. The first picture starter was missed by both teams; the bonuses, on musical modes, went to Jesus, who drew another blank, but nonetheless still led 60-0.

And up both their score and their lead kept going, as Mr Aggarwal took the next starter, and the one after that as well; just one bonus followed from both sets, but, given how they were dominating procedings at this point, it didn't really matter. Mr Cunanan finally got University off the mark with a starter and two bonuses, before taking a second in a row for the Oxford side, but this time they got nothing from a bonus set on Scottish counties. They did also take the music round, on classial works with parts for children's choruses; no bonuses followed again, but they had at least reduced the gap to 90-35.

Mr MacGregor took the next starter for Jesus though, but, again they struggled with the bonuses, just one on writer Kate Millett. Ms Chakraborty took another University, but they also took just a single bonus, and then lost those points to a penalty. Mr Aggarwal quickly pushed Jesus further ahead with the next starter, and, yep, just one bonus on director Sarah Gavron was added to their score. The Cambridge side did also take the second picture round though, on early computer scientists, and the bonuses finally fell for them, a full set, which took their lead to 145-45.

It was pretty much game over, unless University could get a run of starters and the bonuses fell for them. Mr Cunanan did take another starter for them, but another sole bonus ended their chances of a late fightback. Mr MacGregor confirmed this for sure by taking the next starter; just one bonus followed again, but it mattered not by now. University did take the final two starters of the game, but the bonuses didn't go their way again, just one out of the six. And that was the gong; Jesus won 160-85.

Another rather slow and tough contest, with both teams struggling somewhat on the bonuses, but still a decent enough watch. Well done to Jesus, another strong showing on the buzzer from them, and their status as one of the favourites for this series still very much intact; best of luck to them in the QFs! Hard lines to University College, who were just outplayed on the buzzer there, but thanks very much to them for playing!

The stats: Messrs MacGregor, Aggarwal and Cunanan were the joint best buzzers of the night, with four each for their respective teams. On the bonuses, University managed 5 out of 21 (with two penalties) and Jesus 12 out of 30.

Next week's match: again, don't know, will let you know when I do.

Only Connect continued the quarter-finals with Mothers Ruined vs the Morporkians. The latter led 3-1 after the first round, and 5-3 after the second. A better wall allowed Mothers Ruined to pull level on 10-each going into Missing Vowels, but the Morkporkians edged that to win 16-12.

 

Mastermind was won by James Davidson, who led after the specialist round and was ultimately a reasonably comfortable winner with 21, three ahead of second placed Caz Evans, with Marcus Deal third on 17 and Katie Eliot completing the line-up with 13.

 

Counterpoint was a very close contest which went right down to a tie-breaker, with Dave Workmen beating Josh Cleary on that to secure the fourth place in the semi-final line-up.

University Challenge 2022-23: Round 2: Match 4: Bristol vs Queen's

Good evening friends, and welcome back to Quizzy Mondays! The fourth match of the second round tonight, and, by watching it, I had a much better time than my Dad, who is currently subjecting himself to Aberdeen humiliating themselves against Darvel on BBC Scotland! (Suffice to say, it'd be the worst ever Scottish Cup result for a 'big' team in Scotland if it stays the way it is as I write this) The winners tonight would join Royal Holloway, Robert Gordon and Newnham in the quarter-finals.

Bristol were narrowly beaten by Durham in the first round, but survived to the play-offs, where they this time won a closely fought contest, this time over Oriel of Oxford. They were unchanged from those two games: 

Sam Kehler, from Wolverhampton, studying Medicine

Jacob McLaughlin, from Gloucester, studying Economics and Maths

Captain: Tess Richardson, from Reading, studying Chemistry

Alejandro Ortega, from Chalfont St Peter, studying Physics and Philosophy

 

Queen's University Belfast trailed Glasgow for much of their first match, before an impressive sprint in the second half saw them triumph 165-105. Like Bristol's opponents, they'd been playing their reserve that time, as Mr McInerney had vacated his chair this time; their new look line-up comprised: 

Michael Sharry, from Dublin, studying Politics

Oliver Donnelly, from Belfast, studying International Politics, concerning the use of video games by the US Military in propaganda, training and recruitment

Captain: Courtney Campbell, from Coleraine, studying Politics

Luke Duffy, from Belfast, studying Business Economics

 

So, off we set once again then, and Bristol got off the mark first via Mr Ortega's answer of 'philosophy'; bonuses on poetry provided them with two correct answers, before Ms Richardson took the second starter of the night, which was followed by another two correct bonuses. Mr McLaughlin took the third of the night, and this time they went one better with a full set. The first picture round, on lists of books by US presidents, gave Queen's their first points of the night; they took full advantage with a full set, which reduced their gap to 65-25.

Not that this phased Bristol, who immediately hit back with another starter from Mr Ortega and another pair of bonuses. A penalty gave Queen's a chance to get back in, but they failed to take it; Ms Richardson duly took the next to recoup the lost points, with a single bonus following this time. Mr Sharry finally gave Queen's a second starter, which gave them two bonuses, but Mr McLaughlin took the next to push Bristol into three figures already, and a full bonus set on history meant they already had a very healthy lead. The music starter was missed by both sides; the bonuses, on pop songs influced by both psychadelia and folk music, went to Bristol, who couldn't take any of them, but still led 130-45.

Mr McLaughlin quickly took the next starter though, and a full bonus set on cuckoos took their lead into three figures. Mr Sharry did the right thing and took an early buzz on the next starter, but only managed to lost five; he had more luck with his next buzz though, and Queen's just about kept their heads above water with a full bonus set on film. Mr Donnelly then gave them a second starter in a row, but just one bonus on politicians with shared surnames went with it. The second picture round, on paintings depicting local railways, went to Bristol; two bonuses took their lead to 175-75.

Pretty much game over now, and Mr McLaughlin made doubly sure of this by taking the next starter; two bonuses followed, and a subsequent penalty didn't really matter now, especially when Queen's didn't pick it up. Another starter and single bonus took the Avonsiders past 200, though Mr Donnelly did take the final starter for Queen's, and a single bonus on legal terms took them to a respectable enough score. At the gong, Bristol won 295-90.

A pretty one sided contest all things told, but an enjoyable enough one, two watchable teams. Well done to Bristol, a fine performance against proven opponents, one that marks them down as a team worth watching in the quarter-finals; best of luck to them there! Hard lines to Queen's, who were simply outplayed, but they still did pretty well all things considered; thanks very much for playing!

The stats: Mr McLaughlin was easily the best buzzer of the night with six, while Messrs Sharry and Donnelly took two each for Queen's. On the bonuses, Bristol managed 21 out of 33 and Queen's 10 out of 15, and both sides incurred two penalties.

Next week's match: again, don't know, but will tweet/retweet anything I come across.

Only Connect began its quarter-finals with the Jillies playing the Strigiformes. The teams were tied on 2-each after the first round and 7-each after the second. A better wall saw the Strigiformes pull into a 14-12 going into Missing Vowels, and they just about hung on there to sneak home with a 19-18.

 

Mastermind was very narrowly won by Stewart McNicol, whose 19 points saw him only just squeak home ahead of second place Paul Warrington on 18. Jane Worrall and Cristina Murray-Radulescu completed the line-up with 11 each.

 

Counterpoint’ third heat was a closely fought contest, but it was Shanine Salmon who triumphed to take the third place in the semi-finals.

University Challenge 2022-23: Round 2: Match 3: Newnham vs Cardiff

Good evening friends, and welcome to the third Quizzy Mondays of the year! Tonight's UC was one of those contests that I'd like to cite as proof that the second round being a straight knockout is highly unfair, as these were two good teams, both of whom would've been worthy quarter-finalists but, alas, only one could be so. I know, I've moaned about this format many times before, but I'll keep doing so until it's gone; but, of course, it won't be gone until someone thinks of something better, so we're stuck with it. Anyway, enough moaning about the format, lets talk about this excellent contest...

Newnham College Cambridge were narrowly beaten by last week's runners-up Courtauld in the first round, but survived to the play-offs, where they comfortably beat Sheffield. They were unchanged from those two previous games: 

Bethan Holloway-Strong, from Surrey and Australia, studying English

Hannah Bowen, from Gateshead, studying German, Russian and Polish

Captain: Roma Ellis, from Nottingham, studying Philosophy 

Chén Zhou, from Suzhou in China, studying the History of Science

 

Cardiff came straight through to this stage with an easy first round victory over a plucky Coventry team, leading from the off and winning 235-50. They were also unchanged from before:

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 again then, and it was Newnham who got off the mark first via Ms Holloway-Strong; one bonus on art neaveau got the Cambridge side going, but Cardiff immediately responded with Mr Wimperis taking their first starter and a full bonus set from a classic UC set on words differing in having an X at the end. Newnham pulled level again with Ms Ellis taking the next starter, but no bonuses meant they stayed on level pegging. The first picture round, on the titles in Spanish of works written in English about the Spanish Civil War, also went to the Cambridge side; a sole bonus came this time, but they'd now retaken the lead, 40-25.

A third starter in a row increased Newnham's lead, but their alternation with the bonuses continued, none this time on scientific terms beginning 'para'. Mr Balkwill-Western, as he did so often in the first round, came in for Cardiff to give them their second starter of the night; they too took just one bonus, but a second starter in a row put the Welsh side on level pegging, and two bonuses gave them the lead. Only for Ms Bowen to put Newnham level again with the next starter, and a single bonus to give them the lead back. The Cambridge side also took the music round, on inaugural tracks from the US National Recording Registry; a full house increased their lead to 90-60.

Back came Cardiff with Ms Revell taking the next starter, but it was their turn to draw a blank on the bonuses, on cycling. A second starter in a row to the Welsh side gave them one correct bonus to pull them back within five, only for Ms Ellis to immediately increased the advantage again by taking the next starter; just one bonus followed again, but they had nonetheless reached three figures first. (Ms Ellis reports on Twitter that TPTB cut a snide remark made by Paxo when they could only think of alcoholic drinks when asked for a 'beverage'! Watching it back just now, I could indeed see a pretty obvious jump cut where this should've been!) Neither team identified a still from Carrie for the second picture starter; the bonuses, on films talked about by Carol J Clover in her book 'Men, Women and Chainsaws', went to Cardiff, who took a sole bonus to stay in touch, 105-100.

A straight sprint to the finish now then, and Cardiff blinked first as Ms Freeman took the next starter; bonuses on poetry saw them only take five points though, as they could only saw Milton to every one! It did at least give them the lead back, only for Ms Ellis to pull Newnham back level again; just one bonus followed, but the Newnham captain put her side within sight of victory by taking the next starter, with two correct bonuses adding to their cause. One more starter would do it, but Cardiff took the next one instead, and a well-timed full set of bonuses on New Hampshire put the teams on level pegging again! And that was the gong; a 140-each tie!

So, for the second time this series, we went to sudden death! It was Ms Ellis, once again, who was first in on the resulting tie-breaker, and was correct! Newnham had the win!

A fine, close contest between two good teams, neither of whom, as I said earlier, deserved to go out at this stage, or lose that game, a tie was the right result really. Well played Newnham nonetheless, and very best of luck in the quarter-finals! Hard lines to Cardiff, but they can leave with their heads high, well played indeed!

The stats: Ms Ellis was the best buzzer of the night with five starters (plus the tie-breaker), while Ms Freeman was best for Cardiff with three. On the bonuses, Newnham managed 10 out of 27 and Cardiff 12 out of 24, so they made up for one less starter with two more bonuses; that's how well matched these teams were.

Next week's match: again, don't know yet, will let you know as soon as I do.

Only Connect concluded its play-offs with the Jugadores playing the Cunning Planners. The latter led 5-1 after the first round, and 10-7 after the second. Two perfect walls meant it was as you were, 20-17 going into Missing Vowels, and the Planners increased that lead in that to win 27-21 to take the final place in the quarter-finals.

 

Mastermind was won easily by Alex Shilton, whose 24 points saw him comfortably beat Hamid Khan and Adeline McCartney, who finished joint second with 19, and Lesley Ravenscroft, who scored 15.

 

Counterpoint was won by Claire Barrow, a former Mastermind finalist, who sprinted away from a close pack in the final round to take the second place in an already strong semi-final line-up.