University Challenge 2023-24: Play-Off Quarter-Final 1: Manchester vs Christ Church

Good evening again my friends, and welcome back to another Quizzy Monday! Well, the first UC series of the Amol Rajan era is nearly over, and what a fine series it's been, very much enjoyed covering it! That said, I have reached a decision on the future of my UC blogs, which I'll be announcing next week in my semi-final preview post. For now, though, on with business as usual, with the penultimate place in the semis up for grabs...

Manchester beat fellow quarter-finalists Trinity in the first round, Edinburgh in the second and Birkbeck in their first QF, but were beaten 205-120 by Imperial in their second. They were the same foursome as before:

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

 

Christ Church beat Southampton in their first round match and Emmanuel of Cambridge in their second; they then lost their first QF to U.C.L., but comfortably beat Open 179-75 in their second only last week. They were also the same quartet as before:

Eliza Dean, from Edinburgh, studying Classics and French

Melika Gorgianeh, from Leeds, studying Astrophysics

Captain: Arthur Wotton, from Cardiff, studying Spanish

Elliot Lowe, from Thames Ditton in Surrey, studying Classics

 

So, off we set once again then, and a penalty to Manchester allowed Christ Church to pick up where they left off last week and take the first starter of the game; two bonuses gave them an early lead, but Manchester quickly wiped it out with a starter and full house, and then took the lead with a further two starters plus bonuses, with another penalty not getting picked up by their opponents. The Oxonians did take the first picture round, on Japanese place names with shared name elements; one correct bonus cut the gap to 55-35. Another starter gave Manchester a most tricky bonus set that even Only Connect would've probably considered too hard; they did well to get one. Another penalty pegged them back though, and two starters to Christ Church saw them close the gap down to five points. The music round, on pas de deux from ballets, gave the Oxonians the lead; no bonuses followed, but they now led 70-65.

 

Manchester duly retook the lead with the next starter, and took a full bonus set on blue plaques in Staffordshire. Only for Christ Church to respond in kind with Mr Wotton once again doing the honours and a full house of their own gave them the lead back again! Another starter to the Oxford captain plus two bonuses put them in the driving seat going into the final third; they also took the second picture round, on paintings of Aeneas, after which they led 125-90. But two starters in a row to Manchester, which ensured all four Mancunians had contributed a correct starter, closed the gap back down, and a timely full house on the second set gave them the lead back! A penalty to both sides, neither of which was picked up by their opponents, only added to the tension, but a starter to Mr Senehedheera put his side within sight of victory. No bonuses meant they'd probably need another to make, though another penalty to their opponents helped somewhat. Only for Mr Wotton to keep his side in the game with the next starter; one bonus meant there was just five in it and set up a one-starter shoot-out! The starter in question turned out to be one of those that suddenly becomes obvious when a certain line was read out; "at the Sorbonne with Jean-Paul Sartre" meant it could only be Simone de Beauvour, and Mr Grady won the race to say it! And that was the gong! Manchester won 145-130!

A gripping and enthralling, if slightly low scoring, contest between two pretty evenly matched teams, well played both of them! Very well done Manchester, and very best of luck in the SFs! Hard lines to Christ Church, but they can go out with their heads held high; thanks very much for playing!

The stats: Mr Wotton was, once again, the best buzzer of the night with seven starters, giving him an impressive final total of 32 over five matches, while Mr Senehedheera was best for Manchester with four. On the bonuses, Manchester managed 15 out of 24 (with four penalties) and Christ Church 10 out of 27 (with two penalties).

Next week's match: Birkbeck vs Trinity in the final QF

Mastermind’s fourth semi-final was won very easily by Thomas Nelson, a high scoring runner-up who, in true Denmark at Euro 92 style, was on his honeymoon when he got the call to replace unavailable winner Scott Torrance! And he made perfect use of his second chance, as his 26 points saw him comfortably finish ahead of Sadie de Sousa with 19, Elliot Hooson with 17 and Sharon Chambers with 16.

 

We also had another Only Connect Champion of Champions show, this time the one from the 2018 Christmas specials between Series 9 winners the Europhiles and Series 11 winners the String Section. Makes me wonder why the Series 7, 8 and 10 winners haven’t (yet) been invited back for any CoC games; in fact, now I think about it, after 2012, the show didn’t do any specials with previous teams of any sort until these Christmas shows became a thing in 2018. One wonders whether this repeat run will see those become a thing…

 

We also also had the welcome return of Round Britain Quiz on Radio 4 this afternoon, though, not so welcomingly, the theme tune has been changed to a very jaunty piano number that will take a lot of getting used to (assuming it’s here to stay and not a one-off). Comedian Cariad Lloyd made her debut on the show for the Wales team, replacing WWTBAM jackpot winner David Edwards who has departed the show after fourteen years; it was teammate Myfanwy Alexander who did most of the heavy lifting, however, as the new pairing made a winning start to the series with a narrow win over Marcus Berkmann and Paul Sinha of the South of England.

University Challenge 2023-24: Elimination Quarter-Final 2: Open vs Christ Church

Good evening again my friends, and welcome back to JOW for another Quizzy Monday! Not long left now, with both Mastermind and UC nearly done. Sadly, I went into tonight's match already knowing who won after TPTB inadvertantly spoiled the outcome by publishing next week's fixture in advance; thankfully, it was subsequently removed and, to be fair, it's the first time its been done for a long time. Anyway, on with the show itself to see how the already known outcome unfolded...

The Open University were beaten in the first round by Hertford of Oxford, but came through the play-offs and reached the QFs by beating Oxford Brookes and UEA, before losing again, this time to Trinity, in their preliminary. They were the same foursome as those previous occasions:

Ellie Romans, from Oxfordshire, studying Nursing

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

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

James Davidson, from Fraserburgh, studying English Literature

Christ Church Oxford came straight through to the QFs after a comfortable-ish first round win over Southampton and a closer second round one over Emmanuel of Cambridge, but they were well beaten by U.C.L. in their prelim. They were also the same quartet as before:

Eliza Dean, from Edinburgh, studying Classics and French

Melika Gorgianeh, from Leeds, studying Astrophysics

Captain: Arthur Wotton, from Cardiff, studying Spanish

Elliot Lowe, from Thames Ditton in Surrey, studying Classics

So, off we set once again then, and Mr Wotton, easily his side's MVP so far, was first in to quickly identify the Ionian Islands for the first starter; they opened with two bonuses, before Open got going too with a starter, but just one bonus. Two starters were then dropped, with Christ Church losing five, before Open took the lead through Ms Gavaghan, but the bonuses offered no further points. The first picture round, on maps of oil spills, went to Christ Church; one bonus gave them the lead back, 30-25. The lead increased when Ms Gorgianeh took her first starter of the series, and the bonuses fell well for her field of study too; two were taken. Back came Open from Mr Davidson, but just one bonus meant they were still ten behind; it became five when Christ Church incurred another penalty, but they couldn't pick up, and it then became fifteen when Mr Wotton took the next starter. Another penalty to the Oxonians though, a starter and sole bonus to Open, and the teams were now tied. The music starter was dropped; the bonuses, on operas based on works of French literature by non-French composers, went to Christ Church; two bonuses meant they had their lead back, 75-55.

Mr Wotton took a second starter in a row, and it was his turn for the bonuses to fall nicely for, a full set on his native Wales took his side to three figures. A third in a row to the Oxford captain was followed by just one bonus, but Mr Wotton was now firmly in control, and went on to take a fourth with a starter where AR allowed him a one-year leeway either way (good thing Ken and/or Vernon weren't there!). Just one bonus accompanied this latest starter, but their lead had now increased quite substantially. Open did take the second picture round, on winners of the National Geographi Society's Hubbard Medal; one bonus reduced the gap to 130-70. If they could get a run going, they could still do it, but a(n unlucky) penalty made the job harder still. And when Mr Wotton took the next starter, you fancied that was game over. Just one bonus followed, but a very quick buzz from Ms Dean confirmed the game was now out of reach; the resulting bonuses saw AR briefly break character by chuckling after reading a moderately amusing bit of question! Open did take another starter through Ms Gavaghan, but just one bonus went with it and those five were lost to another penalty, which resulted in yet another dropped starter. Christ Church took the final one, but didn't take either of the bonuses there was time for. At the gong, Christ Church won 170-75.

A tough contest I thought, some very tough starters that both teams struggled with; both teams did pretty good all thing considered. Well done Christ Church, a good performance that shows they're certainly not out of the running just yet; best of luck in the play-offs! Hard lines to Open, for whom the questions just didn't fall tonight, but they bow out gracefully after a fine series of performaces; thanks for playing!

The stats: Mr Wotton was, by far and away, the best buzzer of the night with EIGHT(!) starters, while Ms Gavaghan was best for Open with three, though Mr Davidson was their best of the series overall with 22 over five matches. On the bonuses, Open managed just 5 out of 18 (with two penalties) and Christ Church 15 out of 32 (with three penalties).

Next week's match: Manchester vs Christ Church, followed, presumably, by Birkbeck vs Trinity in two weeks' time

Mastermind’s latest semi-final was won by Oli Hanson with 23 points, three ahead of second place Tom Adlam with 20; Julie Ashcroft and Lisa Cowan (who need not feel ashamed at all of her unlucky GK round) completed the line-up with 16 and 13 respectively.

 

We also had the third Only Connect Champion of Champions special between the winners of, arguably, the best two series of the BBC4 era, the Scribes and the Analysts. Next week, as it stands, we’ll be seeing the first Christmas CoC special from 2018; there are three more after that one, so, I’m guessing, assuming the run takes a week off for the hour-long Mastermind final, they’ve timed it so the most recent one will be shown the same week as the UC final.

 

We also also had the Counterpoint final this afternoon, where Annie Hodkinson narrowly beat out James Bingham and Anju Sharda to take the title. Well done her, and thanks to all involved on another enjoyable series!

University Challenge 2023-24: Qualification Quarter-Final 2: Trinity vs U.C.L.

Good evening again my friends, and welcome back, once again, to Quizzy Mondays! Only six more weeks of this left after tonight with, if I've got my calculations right, the Mastermind final on Easter Monday (April 1st) and the UC final the week after. Tonight's much anticipated match was the second qualifier between two good teams, one of whom began the QFs among the favourites, the others as outsiders; whoever won would join Imperial in the semis.

Trinity College Cambridge narrowly lost to fellow quarter-finalists Manchester in the first round, but went on to beat Southampton in the repechage, Warwick in R2 and, in their preliminary, they won a good close contest 190-170. They were the same foursome as 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

U.C.L. won a low scoring first round contest over King's of Cambridge, then beat the fancied Hertford ox Oxford team in R2, and, in their first QF, were comfortably winners over Christ Church 200-130. They were also the same quartet as all those previous matches:

James Hall, from North Finchley, studying Law

Ali Izzatdust, from Portugal and Azerbaijan, studying Intellectual History

Captain: Tayana Sawh, from North London, studying Medicine

Jacob Finlay, from Cranleigh in Surrey, studying Public Administration

So, off we set once again then, and a penalty immediately gave Trinity the lead, from which they took two bonuses. A second starter was followed by just one bonus, but U.C.L. couldn't pick it up and recoup the lost points. The Cambridge side proceded to take the next two starters, including the first picture round, including the first picture round, on Chinese treaty ports; one bonus from both sets took their lead to 60-(-5). Another five were lost, but, again, U.C.L. couldn't pick up, allowing Trinity to immediately recoup the points with the next starter. The next saw Mr Izzatdust buzz, but no answer came, with AR proceding to do a Russell Davies (to Paxo's Robert Robinson) by calling him by his first name while trying to console him! Trinity picked up, and took all three bonuses. Finally, U.C.L. got some points back on the board with the next starter, and took two bonuses on arthropods. They also took the music round, on artists who contributed to Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' album; no bonuses meant they now trailed 95-30.

A third starter in a row to U.C.L. gave them one correct bonus, but another penalty stopped them dead; Ms Henderson was unlucky not to pick it up when she offered 'London Zoo' instead of 'the Zoological Society of London'. The Londoners continued their revival with another starter and two bonuses, but yet another penalty then gave Trinity possession back and they took full advantage with all three bonuses. Unphased, U.C.L. duly began their revival again, taking two starters in a row and the resulting bonuses meant they were now just one perfect 25 behind. The second picture round, on stills from productions of Shakespeare plays, gave them that full house, and the teams were now tied on 120-each!But Mr Finlay then made the same mistake I did of saying 'Taoiseach' as soon as de Valera was mentioned; had we heard 'Mary McAleese', we'd have probably gotten 'President of Ireland', as Mr Jaksina did. Trinity took just one bonus though, and U.C.L. were determined to complete the comeback, as a starter and pair of bonuses put them level again! And Mr Finlay then gave them the lead for the first time with 'iron'; just one bonus followed, but when Mr Hall took the next starter, it looked like that might be enough with so little time left. Indeed, though Mr Banerjee did take another starter for Trinity, there wasn't time for them to pull back. At the gong, U.C.L. won 165-150!

What a great contest that was, very well done indeed both teams! Very well done U.C.L., who, having kept their cool and fought back so brilliantly after that unlucky bad start, have certainly proved their worth now; very best of luck to them in the semis! Hard lines to Trinity, but the semis are still very much achievable for you too; best of luck in the play-offs!

The stats: Mr Hall was, just, the best buzzer of the night with five starters to Mr Jaksina's four. On the bonuses, Trinity managed 14 out of 26 (with two penalties) and U.C.L. 18 out of 30 (with five penalties).

Next week's match: Open vs Christ Church

Mastermind’s second semi-final was won by George Twigg, whose 25 points was enough for him to beat Rob Jones with 21 and Stephen Dodding with 20, with Sharon Reading completing the line-up with 17.

 

We also had the second Only Connect Champion of Champions show from 2011, this time the Epicureans vs the Gamblers. Compared to last week, where you can tell the show is still in its infancy and finding its feet, this week felt more like the Only Connect we know and love now. (Also, is it me, or do the older graphics look more like they were done with 4:3 in mind rather than widescreen?) Curiously, they’re not (yet) showing the Epicureans vs Crossworders special; instead, we’re moving on to the Scribes vs Analysts one next week.