University Challenge 2022-23: Grand Final Preview

Well, here we are again people: another UC grand final. But not just any one, the last one of the Jeremy Paxman era! And, most fittingly for this occasion, the final is being contested, exactly nine months to the day, by the two teams who competed in the very first show of this series! Those two teams are:

Durham: Harry Scully, Chloe Margaux, Alex Radcliffe and Bea Bennett.

and

Bristol: Sam Kehler, Jacob McLaughlin, Tess Richardson and Alejandro Ortega.

 

So, they played each other in the first round, and there were only ten points in it, with Durham triumphing 195-185 on the very last starter of the game. But how they have they done since?

 

Durham went straight into the second round and thumped Bangor 240-35. They then won a close preliminary QF against Southampton 165-135, but then lost a close qualifier QF against Royal Holloway 125-100. A late rally saw them beat U.C.L. 160-145 to reach the SFs, where they met Royal Holloway again, and this time won easily 160-90.

Bristol went into the repechage and beat Oriel of Oxford 185-150 before easily beating Queen's of Belfast 205-90. They went straight through the QFs with wins over Newnham 205-110 in their preliminary and U.C.L. 205-70 in their qualifier. Their semi against Southampton was another comfortable win, 200-70.

So, that's their joint story so far (they began together and they're going to finish together! As I said, and others have said too, most pleasing!); now for the stats.

Well, they've both played six matches, including the one against each other; in those six games, Durham have scored 1,020 points, an average of 170 per game, while Bristol's total is 1,185, an average of 197.5 per game. Bristol have also conceded fewer points, 685, an average of 114.17 per game, to Durham's 715, an average of 119.17 per game, but there's not really anything in that.

Bristol have also answered more starters correctly than Durham, 66 to the Wearsiders' 61. Perhaps more tellingly, though, Bristol's tally is largely the work of Mr McLaughlin, whose 38 is the highest individual total of the series, while Durham have two players with 20+ starters to their names, Mr Scully (28) and Mr Radcliffe (21).

So, Bristol have most of the stats in their favour. Therefore, are they the favourites? Probably, yes. Are they definitely going to win? Not definitely, no. We've already seen Durham beat them once after all.

 

That was in the first round though; Bristol, if anything, have gotten better in the round since, whereas Durham have, arguably, taken their feet off in the rounds since (apart from the second). If anything, the two side's performances against U.C.L. and Southampton illustrate this: Bristol were comfortable winners over both, while Durham only just beat both (and came very close to losing to U.C.L. especially).

 

So, yeah, I'd have to say Bristol look the most likely to win on current form, and given that they have all the stats in their favour. Apart from the fact they lost the previous game between the two. Ironic really; a few weeks ago, I referenced the Eric Monkman final of 2017 to predict Durham would win a rematch; now, I'm using it to predict them to lose one!

But, seriously, if Durham do win, I wouldn't be surprised; they're a fine team too and have proven capable of grinding results out when they have to (including in that first match between the two of course).

These are two very good teams, both very worthy finalists and both would be most worthy winners, and neither would be surprising winners. Best of luck to both; hopefully a great final to end this series, and the Jeremy Paxman era, on! (As others have said, how fitting it is for Paxo's final series to begin and end with the same two teams playing!)

Anyway, as I've said before, I won't be reviewing it on Monday as usual as I'm going away for a week on Monday (and, as tempting as it is, I'm not delaying my holiday just so I can review the show!), so my final write-up of the series will be on Saturday the 4th (at the earliest); see you then then...

University Challenge 2022-23: Semi-Final 2: Bristol vs Southampton

Good evening again friends, and welcome back, for the penultimate time this season, to JOW! So, here we are at the second semi-final, and the penultimate game of the Jeremy Paxman era. I know I said it last week too, but I'll reiterate: he's the only host of UC I've ever known so, unlike the older generation who grew up with Bamber Gascgoigne, seeing someone else there next series will look most wrong to me. Anyway, we'll worry about that next series; lets finish off this one first...

Bristol lost to Durham in the first match of the series, but have been pretty impregnable since, beating Oriel of Oxford, Queen's of Belfast, Newnham and U.C.L. to reach the semis. They were the same foursome as those previous 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

 

Southampton were winners over Balliol of Oxford and Christ's of Cambridge in the first two rounds before they too lost to Durham, but wins over Robert Gordon and Newnham also have taken them through. Thy were also the same quartet as all those previous matches:

Ethan Lyon, from Northampton, studying Film

Magda Steele, from Poland, studying Ecology

Captain: Dom Belcher, from Worcestershire, studying Machine Learning 

Elliot Miles, from the Wirral, studying Marine Biology

 

So, off we set once again then, and Mr McLaughlin took the first starter of the night for Bristol; one bonus followed, before Southampton immediately took the lead with a starter and two bonuses. Bristol retook it through with two successive starters, including the first picture round, on symbols of religions that originated in India, after which they led 45-20. Mr Lyon took another starter to Southampton, and two bonuses pulled them within ten points again, but that would be their final points for some time as Bristol clicked into gear and ran away on the buzzer with the bonuses also falling nicely for them. After the music round, on composers associated with the Societe Musicale Independante, Bristol had stretched their lead to 125-35.

And it was just going upwards, as, what looked like, an educated guess from Mr McLaughlin on the next starter took the lead to 100 points. A penalty finally allowed Southampton back into the game, but they only took one bonus, and a penalty of their own gave Bristol possession back and pretty much ended any chances of a fightback. After the second picture round, on photomontages, Bristol led 165-45. Southampton did deservedly avoid joining the Sub-50 club and lift themselves up to a healthier score in the final straight, but Bristol kept pushing as well and reached 200 with a single bonus from their final set. At the gong, Bristol won 200-70.

Another one-sided yet enjoyable contest between two very watchable teams, as has been the case so many times this series. Well done Bristol, another excellent performance, and it certainly sets up a most intruiging final next week; best of luck in it! Hard lines to Southampton, who were simply outplayed, but they were worthy semi-finalists and we know they're capable of better performances than that; thank very much indeed for playing!

The stats: Mr McLaughlin was, by far and away, the best buzzer of the night with NINE(!) starters, taking his running total to 38, while Messrs Lyon and Miles were joint best for Southampton with two each, though Mr Belcher was their best for the series as a whole with 29 over six matches. On the bonuses, Bristol managed 17 out of 36 and Southampton 5 out of 13, and both sides incurred one penalty.

Next week's match: the final! A Durham vs Bristol rematch! A most appropriate way for the series to end exactly nine months after it began! As I've said before, though, I'm away next week, so my review won't be until Saturday (the 3rd of June) at the earliest. A preview will, hopefully, be coming later this week.

University Challenge 2022-23: Semi-Final 1: Royal Holloway vs Durham

Good evening friends, and welcome back to JOW! We're nearly there now; only two more games of UC left this series after tonight, and, thus, only two more episodes with Paxo as well! I will be giving Amol Rajan a fair chance as host next series, but it will be really odd seeing someone else in charge. Anyway, we still have the small matter of the remainder of this series to deal with so, here we go...

Royal Holloway began the QFs as underdogs after low scoring wins over Cranfield and St Andrews, but proved their worth with a comfortable win over Robert Gordon and a narrow win over their opponents tonight, making them the only unbeaten side left. They were the same foursome as before:

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 South Africa, studying Music and Neuropsychology

 

Durham beat fellow semi-finalists Bristol in the first round, Bangor in the second, fellow semi-finalists Southampton in their first QF, lost their second to their opponents tonight, but recovered by beating U.C.L. to make it to this match. They were also the same quartet as before:

Harry Scully, from Welwyn Garden City, studying Physics and Chemistry

Chloe Margaux, from Haringey in London, studying Sociology

Captain: Alex Radcliffe, from Edinburgh, studying Maths

Bea Bennett, from Icomb in Gloucestershire, studying English

 

So, off we set once again then, and Durham got off to the stronger start, with Mr Radcliffe taking the first two starters of the game, and Ms Bennett the third, taking two, no and three bonuses from the respective sets. Royal Holloway got off the mark with the first picture round, on locations of World Heritage Sites listed as being in danger, after which they trailed 55-15. But Durham were clearly bossing the buzzer race here, though their bonus rate did fluctuate a little bit at times; Royal Holloway did get a second starter, but were clearly second best at the moment. After the music round, on songs produced by Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Durham led 105-25.

And onwards and upwards Durham's score went, as the starters kept coming and the bonuses started to fall better for them as well. Mr Harvey did take a third starter for Royal Holloway, but Durham were over 100 ahead by now, and no bonuses meant the chances of a fightback were slim. The second picture round, on writers who wrote works that originated in the New Yorker, went to Durham, who increased their lead to 165-35. Royal Holloway pulled back to respectability in the final minutes, as they actually managed a pretty good run on the buzzer, with Durham being restricted to a single penalty. It wasn't going to be enough to win them the game, but it was good to see them go out on a flourish. At the gong, Durham won 160-90.

Another enjoyable, if one-sided, contest. Well done to Durham, a solid showing on the buzzer especially which means they certainly have a chance whoever they play in the final; best of luck in it! Hard lines to Royal Holloway, but they've done great to get this far and played well throughout; thanks for playing!

The stats: Mr Radcliffe was the best buzzer of the night with five, while Mr Harvey was best for Royal Holloway with four, though Ms Brown was their best of the series as a whole with 22. On the bonuses, Royal Holloway managed just 4 out of 21 and Durham 15 out of 27 (with the night's one penalty).

Next week's match: Bristol vs Southampton in the second semi-final. A reminder that my write-up of the final itself will be several days after it airs as I'm on holiday that week.

University Challenge: a new format?

OK, so, if you've been following this blog for any number of years, you'll know that I really don't like the current UC format where defeat in the second round means instant elimination. I trot this out at least once every year, usually when a very strong team loses in the second round to another very strong team (think Cardiff and Newcastle this current series and Bristol last series).

In my mind, and the minds of many others such as Weaver's Week, the time to have the 'extended' format is at the second round. (Of course, my preferred preference would just be straight elimination from the second round onwards like it was between 1998 and 2009, but that's besides the point. In fact, now that I say that, I realise that this 37 show format is now the longest running one of the BBC era!) The problem is, how do you 'extend' the format at the second round without dragging the series out longer than it currently is?

Well, many years ago, when the current format was in only its second series, WW proposed a format involving 24 teams, with twelve first round winners going into a 'four groups of three' group stage, with two teams from each group going into the QFs. However, this would come at the cost of abandoning the first round repechage, which is the one bit of the current format we all definitely like, so that's a big no no.

I myself have spent a long time trying to work out how it could be made to work, but all the ideas I've had would see the show run longer than it currently is and/or require multiple shows in the same week to ensure it doesn't run too long.

However, I think I've finally come up with one that doesn't do either of those; in fact, it actually results in a shorter series than the current format...

Remember a few years back when Only Connect attempted two new 37 show formats in Series 12 and 13? Well, S12's proved to be about as unfair as the current UC format, so that's a non-starter. But Series 13's had promise: a second round where the winners go straight to the QFs and the runners-up to a play-off round alongside the two highest scoring R1 runners-up?

 

Now, that wasn't a bad format; the reason it didn't work was because they then did the exteneded QF format as well, which really did drag the show out too much. It was no surprise they abandoned the idea of an 'extended' format after S13 and went back to the old, and much fairer, format for S14 onwards.

However, with a few tweeks, I think that S13 format could work in UC. Here is what I propose:

• Round 1: 24 teams play 12 matches; winners proceed to R2, four highest scoring runners-up progress to First Play-off Round
  
• First Play-off Round: Four teams play two matches; two winners proceed to Second Play-off Round
• Round 2: 12 teams play six matches; six winners proceed to Quarter-Finals, six runners-up proceed to Second Play-off Round
• Second Play-off Round: Eight teams play six matches, four 'preliminaries' followed by two 'qualifiers'; winners of two 'qualifiers' proceed to Quarter-Finals

And, from then on, straight elimination through to the final.

That would bring the series total to 33 matches. It doesn't drag, it's (fairly) easy to understand, and it eliminates the scenario of a team being eliminated after a win and a single defeat.

It would, again, mean only 24 teams could take part. (But that could be a good thing; Oxbridge representation, for example, would probably have be trimmed to at least six, but no more than eight, as opposed to now where eight is the absolute minimum)

 

And it would raise the issue of fairness given how six teams would have only faced two matches to reach the QFs, while two would have had to play four. But this didn't seem to make much difference in S13 of OC; in fact, one of the teams who'd taken longer to get through ended up winning the whole series!

Overall, I don't expect this format to catch on, but I am fairly satisfied with it on the whole and I felt like putting it out there for others to see and judge. If you have any opinions on it, I'd be interested to hear them below or on Twitter.

Back tomorrow with my usual UC write-up; see you then...

University Challenge 2022-23: Semi-Finals Preview

OK folks, here we go again: the final four of University Challenge. As ever, we have our four semi-finalists, and, as ever, we need to assess their chances of reaching the final. Our final four this year are:

• Royal Holloway (Joel Abramovich, Joanna Brown, George Harvey and Micka Clayton) Reached the QFs via two low scoring wins over Cranfield, 155-110, and St Andrews, 145-90. Fared much better in the QFs themselves though, beating Robert Gordon 170-85, before edging a close match against Durham 125-100. Largely a two person team so far, with Mr Harvey and, especially, Ms Brown doing much of the heavy lifting on the buzzer, while their bonus rate has varied from OK to middling.
• Bristol (Sam Kehler, Jacob McLaughlin, Tess Richardson and Alejandro Ortega) Narrowly lost 195-185 to Durham in the first round, but, aside from a middling 185-150 win over Oriel of Oxford in the play-offs, have been imperious since, beating Queen's of Belfast 205-90, Newnham 205-110 in the first QF and U.C.L. 205-70 in the second. While Mr McLaughlin has been their undoubted MVP so far, the other players have all been adding their worth on the buzzer too, while their bonus rate has usually been decent throughout.
• Durham (Harry Scully, Chloe Margaux, Alex Radcliffe and Bea Bennett) After that win over Bristol in the first round as above, trounced Bangor 240-35 in the second round, then won a good narrow 165-130 win over Southampton in their first QF; after narrowly losing their second to Royal Holloway as per above, recovered with a narrow 160-145 win over U.C.L. in the play-offs. Strong on the buzzer in the first two rounds, maybe less so in the QFs, but still pretty decent; bonus rate usually around 50%.
  
• Southampton (Ethan Lyon, Magda Steele, Dom Belcher and Elliot Miles) Easily beat Balliol of Oxford 210-115 in the first round and Christ's of Cambridge 175-90 in the second. After losing their first QF to Durham as per above, beat Robert Gordon 180-65 in their second, before a 135-120 play-off win over Newnham saw them complete the line-up. Again, reasonably strong on the buzzer throughout, and their bonus rate, apart from their most recent game, at around 50%.

Pretty good line-up and, as others have pointed out, no Oxbridge teams! First time that's happened since, as Paul Gilbert commented on Monday's blog, the 2006-07 series. (And only the third time its happened in the BBC era after that and the 2002-03 series) So, who's playing who?

 

Well, as revealed by the BBC website yesterday, Royal Holloway and Durham will be playing each other again in the first semi this coming Monday, while leaves Bristol vs Southampton the following week. So, who will our finalists be?

 

Well, this Monday's game will be most interesting. Reminds me a bit of the Eric Monkman final of 2016-17: a rematch where the team that lost before will, perhaps, be slight favourites, as they have all the stats in their favour, apart from having lost the previous game. Lets not forget, Durham did incur five penalties in that previous game and, if they fare better like they did against U.C.L., they'll probably win. But another game like before, and Royal Holloway are certainly capable of capitalising like they did before. I mean, no-one expected them to get this far, let alone do it unbeaten, but do so they have. This is far too close to call for me.

As for the other, well, this looks like a fairly comfortable Bristol win on paper. Since that opening day defeat, they've, if anything, been getting stronger by the game, while Southampton appear to have been slowing down in their more recent games. As usual, we mustn't write Southampton off altogether, as they're still a capable team, but Bristol's form has just been so strong over recent times that, dare I say it, they have to be the favourites to win the whole series.

So, if I absolutely had to guess, I'd go for Durham vs Bristol in the final, which, as Weaver's Week pointed out a few weeks back, would be a rematch of the first game of the series! (Which would also be rather fitting for Paxo's final series) But no pair of finalists would totally surprise me; all four are capable, and all four would deserve it as well.

Best of (retrospective) luck to all of them! It's been a decent series; let's hope it gets a similarly decent ending! (And Paxo gets to bow out on a high as well!)

Back on Sunday with something extra, then on Monday with my usual write-up.

University Challenge 2022-23: Play-Off Quarter-Final 2: Southampton vs Newnham

Good evening again friends, and welcome back to JOW! I'll be honest, I'm a bit burnt out at the moment, so its going to be streamlined reviews for the rest of this series. But I'll hopefully still be able to do my semi-final and grand final previews as usual, though my review of the final itself will have to wait a few days as I'm going to be away the week it's on. Anyway, we'll worry about that later; for today, the final quarter-final, between two fine teams both of whom would be worthy semi-finalists...

 

Southampton beat Balliol of Oxford and Christ's of Cambridge to reach the QFs, where they initially lost to Durham, before recovering with a 180-65 win over Robert Gordon. They were the same foursome as those four prior games:

Ethan Lyon, from Northampton, studying Film

Magda Steele, from Poland, studying Ecology

Captain: Dom Belcher, from Worcestershire, studying Machine Learning 

Elliot Miles, from the Wirral, studying Marine Biology

 

Newnham College Cambridge lost to Courtauld in R1, rebounded to beat Sheffield and Cardiff to reach the QFs, lost again to Bristol when there, but were then very easy 215-115 winners over Jesus. They were also the same quartet as those five previous outings:

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 Zhiyu, from Suzhou in China, studying the History of Science

 

So, off we set once again, and Newnham started the stronger, taking the first two starters and two bonuses from both resulting sets. Southampton quickly bit back with two of their own, including an unlucky buzz from Ms Chénas she offered the country 'Hungary' instead of the capital 'Budapest', to level the scores; the Saints also took the first picture round, on 'Hello World' coding programmes, after which they led 55-35. Another starter to Southampton yielded no bonuses; Newnham duly took two in a row, which levelled the scores up again. But Southampton took the music round, on countertenor roles in opera, and one bonus meant they led 80-65.

A penalty to Newnham and three starters to Southampton, including a couple of very good quick buzzes from Mr Lyon, further the Solentsiders' lead, but a rather low bonus rate, usually one per set, meant Newnham were still within touching distance. The Cambridge side did take the second picture round, on artworks using gold leaf, after which they trailed 120-80. A second starter in a row then went to Newnham, but no bonuses followed, and, when Mr Belcher took the next starter, his side were within sight of victory; one bonus on astronomy was taken. Newnham could still catch them, and gave it a fine go, Ms Ellis and Ms Bowen taking the final two starters of the game, but one bonus from each set meant they didn't quite make it. At the gong, Southampton won 135-120.

A good close game to end the quarter-finals, played in great spirit by two pleasant teams, well played both! Well done Southampton, worthy semi-finalists and best of luck in them! Hard lines to Newnham, but going out in the quarter-finals is no disgrace and they've been a very watchable team all series; thanks very much for playing!

The stats: Mr Belcher was the best buzzer of the night with five, while Ms Ellis was, again, best for Newnham with four, meaning she ends the series their best buzzer with 30 starters over six games. On the bonuses, Southampton managed 9 out of 27 and Newnham 10 out of 24 (with two penalties).

Next week's match: the first semi-final! Don't know whose playing yet, will let you know on Twitter as soon as I do so.