University Challenge 2021-22: Round 1: Match 9: Edinburgh vs Peterhouse

Greetings friends, and welcome back to JOW! Another week, another Quizzy Mondays to keep us going in these still uncertain times. No Mastermind tonight, shunted for highlights of the cricket earlier, but we still had UC and OC, and Brain of Britain earlier as well, to keep us going for the day. The start of the OC's eliminators, and the next first round match of UC...

Edinburgh University is the second most prolific provider of BBC era UC teams behind only Durham; of the previous 20 teams, three reached the QFs, four the semis, but its finest hour was, of course, winning the show in 18-19. This year's foursome were:

Ben Russell Jones, from Bridgend in Wales, studying Philosophy and Politics

Lewis Thomas, from Strathkinnes in Fife, studying History

Captain: Rishi Sundar, from Manchester, studying Computational Physics

Al Karunaratne, from Hull, studying Physics

 

Peterhouse Cambridge has also won the show in the not too distant past, doing so in 15-16; of its other five BBC appearances, only one other, a semi-final run in 10-11, saw it get past the second round. This year's quartet were:

Beatrix Huissoon, from Solihull, from Natural Sciences

Anamay Shetty, from Lancaster, studying Medicine

Captain: Eli Hong, from Stratford-upon-Avon, studying Medicine

Lucy Hart, from London, studying Physics

 

So off we set once again, and Mr Sundar buzzed a tad too early on the next question and lost five; Peterhouse took the points with Ms Hart picking up, and the Cambridge side started with two correct bonuses. Edinburgh quickly recouped the lost points thanks to Mr Karunaratne, and took a full bonus set on the Greek bonus set. Another starter and full bonus set to the Scots side was sandwiched between two starters to Peterhouse, one of them the first picture round, on types of lace and their place of origin; after this, they narrowly led 50-45.

Edinburgh quickly took back the lead with Mr Thomas taking a second starter, and their bonus form continued with a full set on words beginning 'res'. Another starter and full set of bonuses meant the Scots side were already close to three figures; Mr Thomas duly took a third starter in a row to break the 100, but their bonus form ended as they only, I say 'only', took two on philosophy. Which took us to the music starter, where Mr Russell Jones was first to identify Billie Holliday; the bonuses, on US state songs, gave them just one correct answer, but they had now built up a lead of 130-50.

And the lead was just getting bigger as Mr Russell Jones took a second starter in a row, and they once again took a full bonus set, which took their lead into three figures. Two further starters to Messrs Sundar and Karunaratne, and Edinburgh now had the highest score of the series so far. And when Mr Russell Jones took the next, we had our first score over 200 this series; yet another full bonus set followed. The second picture round, on works that have been exhibited alongside those of Tracey Emin, gave Peterhouse their first points in a while; they deservedly took a full set of their own to cut the take the scores to 220-75.

It was already long over as a contest, just a question of how high both teams could go. Mr Thomas was first in to call Jakarta as the city formerly called Batavia; just one bonus was followed, before Mr Sundar took the next, and two bonuses on regions of India were taken. Mr Shetty did the right thing and had an early punt on the next starter, but all he got for his efforts was a "No, certainly not!" from Paxo and a penalty; Mr Thomas picked up and two bonuses on Jane Eyre were taken. Peterhouse did take the final starter to ensure they didn't lose by 200+ points, but there was no time for any bonuses; at the gong, Edinburgh won 270-80.

A very one sided contest, but still an enjoyable one. Very well done indeed to Edinburgh, a strong team on both the buzzers and the bonuses, with all four players chipping in, all the hallmarks of a great team; very best of luck to them in the next round! Hard lines to Peterhouse, who'd surely have fared better against another team, but still a reasonable effort from them, thanks for playing!

The stats: Mr Thomas was the best buzzer of the night with six, while Ms Hart was best for Peterhouse with three. On the bonuses, Edinburgh managed a mightily impressive 30 out of 39(!) (with two penalties) and Peterhouse an also decent 7 out of 12 (with one penalty).

Next week's match: St John's Cambridge vs Imperial

Only Connect began its eliminator round with the returns of the Gamemakers and the Scrubs. The former led 6-4 after the first round, but the latter turned it round in the second to lead 12-10. Two perfect walls, one of which saw a very welcome set of Robot Wars winners(!), left it as you were, 22-20 going into Missing Vowels, which the Scrubs just fared better in to maintain the lead and win 30-25.

 

Brain of Britain was a two horse race, between Phil Small, an OC runner up with the Belgophiles in Series 13, and Allie Wharf; the former ran away in the closing rounds to win with 17 points to 9. Gill Powell and Laura Trowern also took part, but got a terrible run on the opening questions, and so finished with 2 and 1 respectively.

University Challenge 2021-22: Round 1: Match 8: Exeter vs Manchester

Good evening friends, and welcome back! We're now into the second half of, what's been, a low scoring first round of University Challenge; this can probably be put down to the difficult circumstances under which these teams were put together, allowing for very little or, in the case of last week's Durham team, no practice at all in actual buzzer conditions. Hopefully, when teams start appearing for a second time, and are thus more comfortable, things will start to improve on that front. For now, on with the first round matches...

Exeter University is appearing for a twelfth series of the BBC era; it has never got beyond the QFs, reaching those three times, all three of which would see them lose heavily to eventual grand finalist teams, two of which would win the final (wording deliberate to include Gail Trimble's Corpus Christi team). This year's four were:

Ollie Kirwin, from Henley-in-Arden in Warwickshire, studying Economics and Politics

Jefferson Ting, from Kuala Lumpur, studying Law

Captain: Jacob Evans, from Brecon, studying Geography 

TJ Alabi, from Newnham in London and County Laois in Ireland, studying Creative Writing

 

Manchester University is appearing for a 20th time tonight, and previously underwent a ten year period of reaching at least the SFs, winning three series and being retroactively named winners of a fourth; they haven't hit such heights again in more recent series, two successive QF appearance their more recent high. This year's quartet were:

James McCafferty, from Nuneaton, studying PPE

Tom Stone, from Leicestershire, studying Theoretical Physics

Captain: Alice Irving, from Peterborough, studying Medicine

Richard McNair, from Leatherhead in Surrey, studying Applied Maths

 

So off we set for the eighth time this series, and it was McCafferty who opened the scoring by identifying 'Once Upon a Time' as the words linking the title of listed films; the Mancunians kicked off with one bonus on twinned towns and cities. Mr Kirwin was just as quick to get Exeter off the mark, and they fared better on their first bonuses, two correct. Another starter to Mr Kirwin and two bonuses to Exeter was followed by the first picture starter, where neither team identified a very nice photo of Glasgow at night. The bonuses, on the locations of working shipyards, went to Manchester, who didn't add to their score, leaving the scores at 40-25.

Exeter increased their lead at Mr Evans remembered 2008 as the year Man Utd and Chelsea met in the Champions League final (a timely question given Mr C. Ronaldo's impending return to Stretford!); the Grecians went one better on the bonuses, a full set on Nobel Prize winners with shared surnames. Manchester then lost points on two starters, neither of which Exeter picked up, but they did take another starter and single bonus. Mr Stone finally got Manchester going again, and they took one bonus on characters in the first Matrix film. They also took the music round, on classical German songs from song cycles, but took no bonuses, leaving them trailing 80-40.

The two sides then swapped starters, but got nothing from the resulting bonuses, and Manchester lost another five on the starter that Exeter picked up. Mr Alabi then took Exeter into thee figures, and this time they took two bonuses, which put them within sight of a match winning lead. The second picture round, on winners of the women's Ballon d'Or, went to Exeter, who took one bonus, to increase their advantage to 125-45.

 

And when Mr Alabi very quickly took the next starter, that was most definitely game over; no bonuses followed, but it didn't really matter now. Despite subsequently picking up yet another penalty, Manchester did at least manage a late rally to respectability, taking two successive starters, and the bonuses finally fell their way, two from both sets. At the gong, Exeter won 130-80.

 

Another low scoring contest, but, again, made watchable by two pleasant teams. Well done to Exeter, who look a reasonably decent and promising team, best of luck in the next round! Hard lines to Manchester, but they fared pretty well in the circumstances, thanks very much for playing!

 

The stats: Messrs Alabi and Stone were joint best buzzers of the night, with three each for their respective teams. On the bonuses, Exeter managed 11 out of 24 (with one 'just a' penalty) and Manchester 6 out of 21 (with four penalties).

 

Next week's match: Edinburgh vs Peterhouse Cambridge

 

Only Connect introduced its final two teams, the Godyn Family, Charles, George and captain Alice Godyn, and the Data Wizards, Claire Turner, Jonathan Cairns and captain Tim Brown. The Wizards led 5-2 after the first round, and 10-6 after a second round where Victoria was maybe a tad lenient to give the Godyns two points on one of their questions. A better wall saw the Wizards increase their lead to 20-11, and they increased it with a better performance on Missing Vowels to win 29-15.

 

Clive Myrie’s second Mastermind was won by Ian Wang, making a triumphant return to Quizzy Mondays after his success on UC a couple of series ago. He won by with 24 points, with Brian Hyslop coming second with 22; Barbara Cunningham and Laura Masters also competed, and finished with 20 and 18 respectively. No show next week, or the week after, Mastermind returns on September 20^th.

 

Brain of Britain was won by Heather Auton with 14 points; Ian McKillop came second with 11, and might yet return as a high scoring runner up. Emma Napper and George Bulmer also took part, and finished with 4 and 3 respectively.

University Challenge 2021-22: Round 1: Match 7: Durham vs Trinity

Good evening friends, and welcome back to University Challenge! On a busy Monday, with the eagerly awaited return of Mastermind today completing the Quizzy Mondays triumverate. Or quadumvirate if you add Brain of Britain, as I do. So far, this series of UC has been enjoyable, steady but not terribly spectacular, with no scores over 200 yet; would that change in tonight's rematch of a first round match from two series ago, both of which's teams would reach that series' semis.

Durham University, the second of my mother's alma matas to feature in as many weeks, is the most frequent sender of teams to UC in the BBC era, tonight's being its 22nd; its best performance, of course, was winning in 99-2000, plus five SF appearances and a QF run last series. This year's team were:

Jack Griffiths, from Durham, studying Theoretical Physics

Charlie Hetherington, from Royton, studying Physics

Captain: Emily Mitchell, from Suffolk, studying English Literature

Isaiah Silvers, from Washington DC, studying History

 

Trinity College Cambridge is the most frequent supplier of Cambridge UC teams in the BBC series thus far, tonight being its 12th appearance; two of the previous 11 were wins, in the first BBC series of 94-95 and 13-14, and there have also been an SF run and two QF appearances. This year's quartet were:

Hattie Innes, from Surrey, studying Linguistics

Navonil Neogi, from Surrey, studying Maths

Captain: Ludwig Brekke, from Oslo, studying Law

Luke Kim, from Seoul, studying Physics

 

So off we set once again, and it was Mr Neogi who opened the scoring by identifying V as the letter linking the clues being listed; the Cambridge side firmly put their stall down with a full set of bonuses. Mr Kim quickly gave them a second, which was followed by two bonuses, before Durham opened their scoring thanks to Mr Silvers, and they also took all three of their first bonuses. The first picture round, on trans-African highways currently being built, went to Trinity, who took two more correct answers to increase their lead to 65-25.

Mr Kim increased it when he took the next starter, but this time only one bonus on artists' models was taken (I got Effie Gray). Mr Brekke gave his side a third starter in a row, and two of the resulting bonuses took them into three figures. Durham fought back into the game, with Mr Hetherington taking the points, but they got nothing from a bonus set on archaeological sites. Back came Trinity thanks to Mr Kim, but they also got nothing from their bonuses. They did take the music round though, on Italian operas sung in German, and two correct increased their lead to 130-35.

Paxo uttered the fateful words "still plenty of time to catch up Durham", but it was Trinity who took the next two starters, though they couldn't add to their score with any bonuses. Mr Hetherington did the right thing and had a guess at the next starter, but only managed to lose five for a 'just an' interruption. Ms Innes duly made sure all four Trinity players had a starter to their name, but, again, they got nothing from a bonus set on football clubs from the East of Scotland league (I knew Dunbar and Hawick). The second picture round, on illustrations of plants from Elizabeth Blackwell's 'A Curious Herbal', went to Trinity; one correct bonus took their lead to 175-30.

All over as a contest, but could Durham reach respectability at least? Mr Griffiths pulled the next starter back for them, but they got nothing from the bonuses. Mr Hetherington did take the next two starters though, and the Wearsiders took full marks from both sets to, indeed, give them a respectable total. Mr Neogi took the final starter for Trinity, and one bonus came from the final set. At the gong, Trinity won 190-90.

Another good contest despite being a bit one-sided. Well done to Trinity though, an excellent team on the buzzer who could be one to watch in the coming rounds, best of luck to them there. Hard lines to Durham, who did OK when they did get in and I'm sure could've beaten other teams in this series, but they still gave a good account of themselves, thanks for playing!

The stats: Mr Kim was the best buzzer of the night with five, while Mr Hetherington was best for Durham with three. On the bonuses, Durham managed 9 out of 15 (with the night's one penalty) and Trinity 14 out of 36.

Next week's match: Exeter vs Manchester

Only Connect introduced two teams of UC alumni: the Ramblers, Niall Jones, Lorna Frankel and captain Steve Barnes, all of whom have represented Southampton (Mr Jones and Ms Frankel in 17-18, Mr Barnes in 19-20), and the Woolgatherers, Gill Taylor, Beverley Randle and captain Chris Macklin, who were all part of the Open University team last series. The Ramblers led 3-1 after a low scoring first round, before the Woolgatherers recovered to tie the scores at 6-each after the second. Two seven point walls meant as you were, 13-all going into Missing Vowels, where the Ramblers fared better to win 19-13.

 

Mastermind returned with Clive Myrie as the new host, and he gave an excellent first impression; the show is definitely safe in his hands. Ranvir Singh Kalare won the show with 20 points; Tom Jewsbury came second with 18 and Megan Sutcliffe and Eleanor Launchberry finished joint third with 17 each.

 

Brain of Britain was won by Derek Heyes with 10 points, after a hard fought contest where the lead changed hands a couple of times; Sarah Hunt came second with 8, Malcolm Barraclough and Neil Wright, again, came joint third with 6 each.