University Challenge 2023-24: Repechage Play-Off 2: Oxford Brookes vs Open

Good evening again friends, and welcome back to Quizzy Mondays! Tonight, the first round officially ended with the second repechage play-off; last week's first was a rather one-sided affair, and, if paper decided the outcome, tonight's would be too. Still, both teams impressed in the first round and deserved another go; the winners would take the final place in what is, as I've said before, a very high quality line-up of a second round that is going to be utterly brutal even by UC's standards.

Oxford Brookes played Birkbeck in a storming contest, the first in nearly ten years where both teams broke 200, and were the unfortunate losers of that great game, 220-205. They were unchanged from that fine contest:

David Caldecott, from Henley-on-Thames, studying Biology

Lara Gardner, from Ledbury in Herefordshire, studying Human Biosciences

Captain: John Manton, from Gortnahoe, County Tipperary, studying Fine Art

James Broadbent, from Wallingford in Oxfordshire, studying International Relations and Politics

The Open University, in contrast, were soundly beaten by Hertford in their first round, trailing from the off, but recovering well in the latter half of the game, ultimately trailing 230-155 at the gong. They were also the same foursome as before:

Ellie Romans, from Henley-on-Thames, studying Nursing

Mike Holt, from Wilmslow in Cheshire, studying towards the Open degree

Captain: Ann Gavaghan, from London, studying Art and Architectural History

James Davidson, from Fraserburgh, studying English Literature

So, off we set once again then, and it was Mr Davidson who quickly took the first starter of the game, and Open shot out of the blocks with a full bonus set, a classic UC one on pairs of US states where the final letters of the first and the first of the second are the same. Ms Gavaghan took the next two, with all but one bonus being answered correctly too, and Open also took the first picture round, on crosses associated with regions/peoples of Europe, after which they already led 90-0. And when Ms Romans took the next starter, not only were Open already at 100, but already all four of them had contributed at least one correct starter. Oxford Brookes finally got going via Mr Broadbent, with one bonus following, but two further starters pushed Open ahead again, though their early bonus rate did dry up again with now just one bonus coming from both sets. The music round, on pop songs that feature the Minimoog synthesiser, went to Oxford Brookes, who quickly took all three bonuses, which cut the gap to 135-40.

A second starter in a row went to the Oxonians, accompanied by a single bonus, but another quick buzz from Mr Davidson reawoke Open; just one bonus went to them as well, but a second starter in a row gave them a full bonus set on cocktails ("Parties round your house must be fun!" quoth AR!). And when Mr Manton lost five on the next starter, Mr Davidson swooped, and a second full house in a row accompanied it, Oxford Brookes' order looked tall, though they did recover well with a starter and pair of bonuses of their own. After the second picture round, on paintings of women with fans, Open led 220-70. Oxford Brookes recovered well in the final minutes with a decent run of starters, but Open were too far ahead to be caught, especially given the bonuses weren't exactly falling in the Oxonians' favour. At the gong, Open won 255-155.

A superb quality contest between two high quality teams, what a shame one of them has to go out now; bravo to AR for encouraging them to applaud themselves/each other at the end, well deserved. Well done to Open, a superb performance that proves them a worthy addition to the second round line-up; best of luck there! Hard lines to Oxford Brookes, most unlucky to be going out after two such good performances, but they can do so with their heads high; thanks for playing!

The stats: Messrs Broadbent and Davidson were joint best buzzers of the night with six starters each for their respective teams. On the bonuses, Oxford Brookes managed 14 out of 27 and Open 26 out of 38, with both sides incurring one penalty each.

Next week's match: Warwick vs Trinity (the first of many brutal contests I fear we're in for in this most high quality of second rounds!)

Only Connect concluded its qualifier round with the returns of the Mercians and the Video Nasties. The latter led 7-2 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, after an epically close round, the Mercians just snuck it on the final question to win 26-25.

 

Mastermind was won comfortably by Lisa Cowan, whose 21 points comfortably saw her beat second placed Rebecca Russell-Peach with 16 and joint third placed John Castell and Siddharth Iyer with 15 each.

 

Brain of Britain reached its final heat, which was won by Sue Brooks, who largely won thanks to a five point haul in the second round, and finished with 12 points, two ahead of Elizabeth Mowbray in second with 10. David Hopkins and Graham McNeilly completed the line-up with 6 and 5 respectively.

 

So, the BoB semi-finals start next week, with the twelve heat winners joined by the four highest scoring non-winners (though all in contention are runners-up); Dave Cowan is definitely through with 13, while four others, Sue Brearley, Matt Barr, John Robinson and Jim Cook, are tied for the remaining three places with 12 each, meaning one must sadly miss out. We know, from next week’s line-up published on the website, that Mr Robinson is one of the lucky three; how they’ll decide which of the others is the one that misses out, I do not know. Hopefully Russell D. will explain at some point.

University Challenge 2023-24: Repechage Play-Off 1: Trinity vs Southampton

Good evening my friends, and welcome back to Quizzy Mondays! The new era of University Challenge has begun most promisingly with, as I said in my first round review on Thursday, a very strong round that has given us a very strong and close knit second round line-up. And it's not even complete yet, as we still have, what AR is calling (whereas Paxo never did), the repechage to deal with...

Trinity College Cambridge lost the very first game of the series against Manchester, with their opponents catching up right at the end, 175-each the final score, and pipping them on a tie-breaker. They were the same foursome as before:

Sarah Henderson, from North London, studying Japanese

Agnijo Banerjee, from Dundee, studying Maths

Captain: Ryan Joonsuk Kang, form Seoul, studying Organic Chemistry

Jeremi Jaksina, from Bialystok, Poland, studying Genetics

 

Southampton were beaten by Christ Church Oxford three weeks later, leading at the half-way mark before a sprint in the second half gave their opponents the win, though a late recoverery saw them pull the score to 180-155. They were also unchanged from before:

Elise Harrington, from Vancouver, studying Geochemistry

Rhys Counsell, from Bangor in Northern Ireland, studying Neutron Star Physics

Captain: Roshana Wickremasinghe, from Watford, studying Education

Chris Meredith, from Horsham, studying Maths

So, off we set once again then, and it was Mr Kang who opened the scoring for the night with 'stainless steel' (appropriate given how much Robot Wars I've been watching lately!), which was followed by two bonuses on fashion designers. The Cambridge side proceded to take the next three starters, which saw them race into an immediate strong lead, and meant AR already felt the need to give Southampton a 'plenty of time'; it seemed to work, as the Saints duly opened their account with the first picture round, on locations of hydroelectric power stations, and took a full bonus set to boot, taking the scores to 90-25. It looked like a blip though, as Trinity reawoke to take a further three starters, which increased their lead to 125 points, before another AR PoT moment was followed, again, by Southampton reawkening with a starter and pair of bonuses. After the music round, on compositions by composers associated with the city of Weimar, Trinity led 170-45.

Southampton did now manage a brief rally of two starters in a row, but just two bonuses meant they were still nearly 100 behind, with the gap increasing again when Trinity took another starter plus two bonuses from a classic UC set on pairs of words differing by the addition of a 'Y' on the end. After the second picture round, on female scientists who made major contributions to research that led to male colleagues winning Nobel prizes, which Trinity took a full set on, the Cambridge side led 215-75. All over bar the shouting now, with Mr Banerjee making doubly sure as he took the next two starters; just one bonus came from each resulting set, but it didn't really matter now. Southampton did deservedly manage a late rally to reach three figures though, which also ensured all eight playershad contributed a correct starter for the first time in a few weeks. At the gong, Trinity won 245-120.

Another fine and enjoyable, if one-sided, contest. Well done to Trinity, an excellent performance which only strengthens the already-strong second round line-up, of which they are a worthy addition; best of luck in it! Hard lines to Southampton, but a perfectly respectable performance in the circumstances; thanks for playing!

The stats: Mr Banerjee was the best buzzer of the night with six starters, while Messrs Counsell and Meredith and Ms Wickremasinghe all got two each for Southampton. On the bonuses, Trinity managed a very good 25 out of 36 and Southampton 10 out of 19, with no penalties all night and, as I said earlier, all eight players got at least one starter right, which is always most pleasing.

Next week's match: Oxford Brookes vs Open in the second play-off (ironic that AR is now using the word 'repechage' just when most of us aren't calling it that as much!)

Only Connect continued the qualifiers with the returns of the Isotopes and the Also Rans. The latter led 4-3 after the first round, and 6-5 after a rather tough second. A better wall saw the Isotopes take the lead 12-11 going into Missing Vowels, but the Also Rans easily bossed that to win 21-14.

 

Mastermind was won by Tom Moody, whose 20 points saw him edge out Marion Vasquez with 17, with Christopher Davis on 15 and Lilian Downs on 9.

 

Brain of Britain was won by Dan Adler (formerly of OC, Mastermind, Counterpoint and many others), who seized the initiative with a 5IARAABP in the second round and never looked back, eventually winning with 18 points, eight clear of second placed Hazel Humphreys, who is unlucky not to have reached the HSNW board IMO. Anne McIlhinney and Richard Pyne also competed, finishing with 7 and 2 respectively.

University Challenge 2023-24: First Round Review

OK, so, the first first round of the Amol Rajan era has ended, and what a first round it has been. The highest scoring one for years too, and, at the end of it, we have, IMO, the strongest second round line-up in some time; I honestly wouldn't be surprised if any of the fourteen first round winners or the four highest scoring runners-up reach the second round. Our fourteen first round winners, plus their winning scores and margins of victory, are:

• Manchester (175, won on tie-breaker)
• Aberdeen (190, 65)
• Birkbeck (220, 15)
• Christ Church Oxford (180, 25)
• Emmanuel Cambridge (240, 180)
• U.C.L. (190, 45)
• UEA (235, 110)
• Hertford Oxford (230, 75)
• Imperial (285, 140)
• Sheffield (290, 175)
• Warwick (265, 125)
• Edinburgh (320, 170)
• Lincoln Oxford (225, 160)
• York (190, 70)

 So, those are, as ever, the raw figures of a very strong field indeed; so, who are the favourites?

Well, Edinburgh's 320 is the highest of the lot, followed by Sheffield's 290, Imperial's 285 and Warwick's 265. All four scores were also achieved against opponent who scored well in their own right, so, provided they avoid each other, those four would probably be the most favoured to go through.

Then there's the cluster of five teams whose scores are within 20 points of each other. Ironically, it might be the lowest scoring of those five, Birkbeck, who would be the most fancied to progress given their opponents also scored 200+. Plus, at least one of these five is definitely not going to make it, and possibly more than one given the very strong field.

And the final five, all of whose scores are, again, very close together, are all quite capable teams, especially Manchester given, again, the high quality of opponent they faced.

I honestly cannot say any match-up between any of these fourteen teams would be a foregone conclusion either way. While some teams, especially those four, would probably be fancied more than others, all are good in their own right and would be worthy quarter-finalists.

And that's before we even consider the teams that could come through the play-offs; those four teams are:

• Oxford Brookes (205, 15)
• Trinity Cambridge (175, lost on tie-breaker)
• Southampton (155, 25)
• Open (155, 75)

And the draw pits Trinity against Southampton this coming Monday, and Oxford Brookes against Open the week after.

Again, Trinity and Oxford Brookes would probably start as favourites, but Southampton and Open are both capable teams who can definitely not be ruled out.

In short, I cannot call who our quarter-finalists will be at all. This is the most even second round line-up for a while and, if the high standard of the contests in the first round is kept up, the second round really will be one to watch!

As for the host, I honestly think AR has been pretty good so far, apart from maybe overdoing the 'still plenty of time' remarks. In many ways, he's exactly what I was hoping Paxo's successor would be: like Paxo in enough ways we're familiar with, but still different enough to be his own. And I believe he has promised on the site formerly known as Twitter to take viewers' thoughts on board so as to improve, so he'll only improve as he does it more.

So, here's hoping the second round lives up to the impressive standards of the first; best of (retrospective) luck to all involved!

Back on Monday with my usual blog; see you then I guess...

University Challenge 2023-24: Round 1: Match 14: York vs Northeastern

Good evening once again my friends, and welcome back to Quizzy Mondays! We've arrived at the final match of the first round of a series of UC we were all a bit apprehensive going into, but which has turned out most enjoyable (IMO anyway). Tonight we also saw the first debuting team of the Amol Rajan era, playing one of the most prolific entrants of the Paxo era; their task, win, or lose with 160 or more.

The University of York, not to be confused with Toronto's York University, is the regular, having appeared 19 teams under Paxo (plus a further nine under Bamber if AR is to be believed), of which its best was when it reached the final in 2010-11 before losing soundly to Magdalen of Oxford. This year's foursome were:

Emma Giles, from Cheltenham, studying English Literature

Emma-Mae Smith, from Scunthorpe, studying Linguistics

Captain: Ollie Smith, from Basildon, studying Chemistry

David Bachelor, from Enfield in Middlesex, studying Economics and Politics

Northeastern University London was formerly the New College of the Humanities, before being purchased by the American Northeastern University in 2019, acquiring its new name only last year. Its first ever UC team were:

Colin Garwood, from Hertfordshire, studying Philosophy

Benjamin Schmale, from Germany, Kenya and Switzerland, studying History with Economics

Captain: Chloe Rogers, from Cambridgeshire, studying History with Politics and International Relations

Seamus Conlon, from London, studying Artificial Intelligence

So, off we set once again then, and the first starter of the night was taken by Ms Smith, who was differentiated from her captain by Mr Tilling referring to them as 'York E. Smith' (wasn't he in The Bill?) and 'York O. Smith'; they took one bonus. Mr Garwood gave Northeastern their first ever UC starter, and they also took one bonus from their first ever set. York took the next two starters though, including the first picture round, on locations of funicular railway systems, after which they led 50-15. Two further starters pulled York further ahead, though only three bonuses from six meant they hadn't pulled as far ahead as they could've. Northeastern now got a good run going, taking three starters in a row, including the music round, on Motown disco songs; two bonuses from that meant they'd now cut the gap to 85-65.

And when York lost five on the next starter, and the London side took it, they were just five behind. No bonuses followed, but a fifth in a row gave them the lead, with a full bonus set on Ireland taking them into three figures too. Back came York with two starters in a row, but just one bonus from six meant it was still tight. The second picture round, on paintings by teachers as the Bauhaus (I said Kandinsky before any of them had even been asked!), went to Northeastern; two bonuses meant they now led 120-105. But back came York again, with a late rally on the buzzer that saw them pull away into a strong late lead, though the bonuses continued to trouble them (one of them, on the host of the next Commonwealth Games, is now out of date). At the gong, York won 190-120.

A good close game to end the first round despite being lower scoring than some before it. Well done to York, a decent first showing, though they may need to improve on the bonuses in the next round; best of luck to them there! Hard lines to Northeastern, but a very respectable first ever performance on the show; thanks very much for playing!

The stats: Mr Bachelor was the best buzzer of the night with five, while Mr Garwood was best for Northeastern with four. On the bonuses, York managed 14 out of 37 (with two penalties) and Northeastern 10 out of 21.

Next week's match: Trinity vs Southampton in the first play-off, followed, presumably, by Oxford Brookes vs Open the week after. A fuller preview coming up later this week, if I remember.

Only Connect continued its qualifier matches with the Antiphons and the Thrifters returning for their second contests. The latter led 6-2 after the first round (I claim three points on the months question), and 12-6 after the second (I claim the Scottish cities and the exceptions question, complete with the exact model answer(!) at the same times as the teams). A better wall saw the Thrifters increase their lead to 22-13 going into Missing Vowels, and they only increased their advantage in that to win 32-18.

 

Mastermind was another high scoring and very close contest, with Rob Jones just triumphing with 24 points, ahead of Martin Hoskins (formerly of OC) and Steve Barnes (formerly of UC and OC), both of whom scored 22, and Amy Roberts who scored 18.

 

Brain of Britain was won by Colin Kidd (OC alumnus), who raced off the blocks with a ‘five in a row and a bonus point’ in the first round and never looked back, eventually winning with 15 points, four ahead of second placed Andrew Craig with 11. Karen Barnes and Carol Norton also took part, finishing with 7 and 8 respectively.