University Challenge 2023-24: Preliminary Quarter-Final 3: Trinity vs Open

Good evening again my friends, and welcome to the final full run of Quizzy Monday this season! Well, sort of. Only Connect did finish up tonight, of course, but there's a repeat of an old Christmas special in its slot next week, presumably to avoid anyone getting withdrawal symptoms! More on that later, but firstly, on with UC, and two teams we haven't seen for a while after last being seen twice in quick succession...

 

Trinity College Cambridge came through the repechage after narrowly losing to Manchester in the first round; they then defeated Southampton and won a great contest against Warwick on the final starter of the game to join their conquerors in the QFs. They were unchanged from those previous games:

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

The Open University were also defeated in the first round, by Hertford of Oxford, but would then be very easy winners over, firstly the very good Oxford Brookes team in the play-offs, and then the useful UEA team in the second round. They were also the same quartet as those previous outings:

Ellie Romans, from Oxfordshire, 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 Ms Gavaghan who took the first starter of the night, and the second as well, and they were followed up by half the resulting bonuses. A penalty to Trinity plus two further starters to Open meant they already led by 75 points and AR gave Trinity a standard early 'plenty of time'. The Cambridge side did get going proper with the first picture round, on maps of UK cities and their green spaces; one bonus cut the gap to 70-10. This sparked a run for Trinity as they would take a further two starters to cut the gap right back down. A fourth took them within five points, but they couldn't get the one bonus to draw level. Open duly increased their lead with a starter and sole bonus; but Trinity bit back and this time did take the lead with a full bonus set on household pests. Neither side got the music starter; the first replacement starter, asking which two countries are part of both the EU and the Commonwealth, saw both teams mistakenly offer the UK as an answer! ("I'm presuming you guys have all forgotten about this thing called Brexit!") The music bonuses, on 21st century jazz Grammy winners, eventually went to Open; none followed, but they had at least retaken the lead 95-90.

Only for Trinity to immediately take it back with the next starter, followed by one bonus. Open reclaimed it back with a starter plus two bonuses, but, again, back came Trinity as Mr Jaksina made AR laugh by getting a starter on his subject of genetics right! No bonuses followed. The second picture round, on photos of fashion designers at work, went to Open; a full house meant they retook the lead 140-115. A quick buzz from Mr Holt and a second full bonus set in a row put them in pole position for the final minutes. A third in a row went to them, but, in a reversal of fortune, no bonuses went their way. That was the cue for Trinity to take two starters in a row of their own, which cut the gap to just 25 points. The next starter required the answer to be spelt out; Mr Holt buzzed first, but no answer came. Minus five, in came Mr Banerjee, and one bonus put Trinity five behind. And then ahead as Mr Banerjee took a second starter in a row; some will probably be annoyed that they took their time with the resulting bonuses, but, to be fair, they did give the one they did know straight away. Ms Henderson took the final starter, and that was game over; no time for any bonuses to be answered. At the gong, Trinity won 190-170.

Another excellent contest between two very well matched teams indeed. Well done Trinity, and best of luck in the qualifying round! Hard lines to Open; best of luck to them in the elimination round!

The stats: Messrs Banerjee and Jaksina were joint best buzzers of the night with five each, while Ms Gavaghan and Mr Davidson were joint best for Open with three each. On the bonuses, Trinity managed 15 out of 34 and Open 15 out of 30, with both sides incurring one penalty each, so it was those two extra starters that won it, and, for the second week in a row, all eight players contributed at least one correct starter.

Next week's match: U.C.L. vs Christ Church

Only Connect’s nineteenth Grand Final was contested by the Thrifters, Will Chadwick, Jack Karimi and captain Sam Haywood, and the Also Rans, Harry Heath, Claire Barrow and captain Dan Afshar. The former led 3-2 after the first round, and 9-5 after the second. A better wall saw the Also Rans take the lead 15-14 going into Missing Vowels, which proved very close indeed before, on the very last clue, the Thrifters won the game and the series 19-18! Very well done to them, and to the Also Rans, who’d have deserved to win too! And thanks to all involved in another excellent series! Now for the far too long wait for the next!

 

Mastermind was won by Stephen Dodding, formerly of OC and I think Fifteen-to-One as well, whose 29 points, largely from a superb GK round, saw him win with 29 points, three ahead of second placed Dan Hudson. Laura Cooney and Omer Hamid also competed, finishing with 23 and 11 respectively.

University Challenge 2023-24: Preliminary Quarter-Final 2: Sheffield vs Imperial

Good evening again my friends, and welcome back to Quizzy Mondays! The penultimate full Monday nighter of this season, with Only Connect finishing next week, but Mastermind and UC still have plenty left in them. Tonight, the first stage of the quarter-finals continued, as did AR's record of summing it up much more efficiently and effectively than Paxo ever did! Winners would maybe face Manchester in the qualifiers, runners-up would maybe face Birkbeck in the eliminators.

Sheffield were comfortable winners over Loughborough in the first round, but had a much lower scoring and closer win over Aberdeen in the second, with a better bonus showing seeing them win 130-105. They were unchanged from those two games:

Safiyyah Rujak, from Plymouth, studying History

Joe McGough, from Coventry, studying History and Spanish

Captain: Cameron Colclough, from Sheffield, studying Biophysics

Matthew Nail, from Blyth, studying Philosophy

Imperial won both their matches comfortably thus far, beating Balliol of Oxford in the first round, and Lincoln of Oxford 250-120 in the second, to start the QFs as gentle favourites. They were also the same quartet as those two previous games:

Justin Lee, from Hong Kong and Canada, studying Chemistry

Adam Jones, from Hong Kong, studying Computer Science

Captain: Suraiya Haddad, from Manchester, studying Medicine

Sourajit Debnath, from Calcutta, studying Applied Computational Science and Engineering

So, off we set once again then, and it was Mr Lee who opened the scoring with, appropriately, 'China', and a very quick full set of bonuses put down a firm marker. Sheffield followed off the mark, but only got one bonus from their opening set of phonetics. The exact same thing then happened: Imperial took a starter and a full set of bonuses, Sheffield took one and just one bonus. The Steelers did take the first picture round, on ocean currents; another sole bonus meant they trailed 50-45. A third in a row gave Sheffield the lead though; just the one bonus came again though, and Imperial duly retook the lead with a third perfect 25. And then a fourth followed, taking them to 100 already. And then they only went and took a fifth, an amazing run of form that we haven't seen for some years! Sheffield did take the music round, on songs from visual albums; two bonuses cut the gap to 125-80.

A second starter in a row went to Sheffield, ensuring all four of them had contributed a correct starter to the game, but this time no bonuses went with it. Back came Imperial as they ensured all eight players had a starter to their name; finally, their perfect start ended with just (I say just) two on Finnish literature. Sheffield followed them into three figures, but, again, got nothing from their bonuses; Imperial responded with another starter and brace of bonuses. The second picture round, on stills from Pedro Almodovar films, went to Sheffield; two bonuses meant they trailed 165-120. Still either team's game; Mr Nail knew 'Clifford' to be the name of, among others, the Big Red Dog, and one bonus kept them in touch. Mr Lee gave Imperial more room to breath, but a tough bonus set gave them just one correct. A similarly tough bonus set went to Sheffield; they also took one, meaning it was as you were. They really needed the next starter, but Mr Debnath took it for Imperial, and that was game over; just one bonus followed again. Sheffield took the final starter, but there was no time for any bonuses to be answered. At the gong, Imperial won 195-160.

A pretty good game between two good teams, ultimately the bonuses proved the difference. Well done Imperial, a third solid performance, and best of luck in the qualifiers! Hard lines to Sheffield, but still a good showing; best of luck in the eliminators.

The stats: Messrs Nail and Debnath were the best buzzers of the night with five starters each for their respective team. On the bonuses, Sheffield managed just 10 out of 31 and Imperial a very impressive 21 out of 27(!), and, as I said before, all eight players got at least one starter right, for the first time this year!

Next week's match: Trinity vs Open

Only Connect’s third place play-off pitted the Suncatchers against the Mercians. The latter led 6-1 after the first round, and 8-6 after the second. Two perfect walls meant it was as you were, 18-16 going into Missing Vowels, and the Mercians increased their lead in that to win 25-17 and claim the bronze medal. Next week, the final, which promises a good one; best of luck both teams involved!

 

Mastermind was won very narrowly by Sarah Thornton with 23 points, just one ahead of Sean Haughey and Katy Marchant (who was on UC last series I think) with 22 each. Iain Cumming completed the line-up with 15.

University Challenge 2023-24: Preliminary Quarter-Final 1: Manchester vs Birkbeck

Good evening again friends, and welcome to the QFs of this year's UC! And, after years of Paxo making the double elimination format sound more complicated then it sounds, AR duly redressed the balance tonight with a very clear and concise explanation indeed! Seriously, it's a good format; it's the stage of the tournament it's used at that I and others object too. Anyway, here we go again...

 

Manchester beat fellow quarter-finalists Trinity on a 190-each tie-breaker in the first match of the series, before more comfortably beating the fancied Edinburgh 215-105 in the second. They were the same foursome as those two games:

Bluma De Los Reyes-White, from Franklin, Massachusetts, studying Genetics

Ilya Kullmann, from London, studying Medicine

Captain: Hiru Senehedheera, from Letchworth Garden City, studying Materials

Dan Grady, from Burton-on-Trent, studying Maths

Birkbeck have been narrow winners in both their games so far, winning a great first round match against Oxford Brookes 220-205 before they too needed a tie-breaker to beat York after drawing 155-each in the second round. They were also the same quartet as twice before:

Danny McMillan, from Belfast, studying Modern Irish History

Olivia Mariner, from London, studying Maths

Captain: Samir Chadha, from Ealing, studying Creative and Critical Writing

Margherita Huntley, from South London, studying Law and Political Economy

So, off we set once again then, and it was Mr Grady who opened the scoring for the round with 'Philip Glass'; bonuses on potatoes in art gave them just one bonus, before Birkbeck responded in kind with a starter and sole bonus. A second starter to Mr Grady gave Manchester bonuses more to their liking, a full set on the Asante people. Birkbeck in contrast got just one of their second set. The first picture starter was dropped; the replacement starter suddenly became obvious when '2010 World Cup quarter-finalists' and 'Roque Santa Cruz' were mentioned, myself and Mr Grady both knew it to be Paraguay. The bonuses, on elements with shared name roots, gave Manchester one correct right, taking their lead to 55-30. Manchester took the next starter, Birkbeck the next two, but the struggles with the bonuses continued, none out of nine. The music round, on pop songs produced by Conny Plank, went to Manchester; one correct bonus finally came, taking their lead to 80-50.

Back came Birkbeck, and they took two bonuses on Bossa nova; Manchester responded in kind, and thus reached three figures. Another starter to the Londoners saw a reversion to form; just one correct. The second picture round, on paintings by war artists, went to Manchester; no bonuses once again though nonetheless meant they led 110-85. Mr Senehedheera took a second starter in a row to Manchester, and Mr Grady a third, but just one resulting bonus out of six meant Birkbeck still had a chance. Mr Chadha duly took the next starter, but no bonuses going with it felt like game over. Mr Senehedheera confirmed this as he took the next starter, which was followed by another sole bonus. There was time for one more starter before the gong, but the gong denied any bonuses being answered; Manchester won 160-95.

A somewhat slow start to the round with both teams struggling somewhat with the bonuses; again, both did rather well all things considered. Well done to Manchester and best of luck in the qualifying round! Hard lines to Birkbeck, and best of luck in the eliminators.

The stats: Mr Grady was the best buzzer of the night with five, while Messrs McMillan and Chadha were joint best for Birkbeck with three each. On the bonuses, Manchester managed just 10 out of 31 and Birkbeck just 5 out of 21, so some pretty tough questions tonight; as I said, both teams did pretty well in the circumstances.

Next week's match: Sheffield vs Imperial

Only Connect’s second semi-final was a much anticipated clash between the Also Rans and the Mercians. The former led 4-3 after the first round, and 9-7 after the second. A better wall saw the Mercians take the lead 17-16 going into Missing Vowels, but the Also Rans just snuck back ahead after a very close round to win 22-21! They meet the Thrifters in, what should hopefully be, a good final; the Mercians play the Suncatchers in next week’s third place play-off.

 

Mastermind was won very comfortably by Julie Ashcroft, whose 26 points saw her easily triumph over Rachel Fullard with 19, Edison Hipkin with 18 and Mark Davies with 17.