University Challenge 2020-21: Play-Off Quarter-Final 1: Imperial vs Durham

Good evening friends, and welcome back to University Challenge! Only five shows left including tonights, and only four Only Connects left as well, before the blog goes into hibernation for the Spring as usual. No idea yet on their next series, but other shows have been filming recently despite the current lockdown, so hopefully we'll be back again as usual in July. On with tonight...

Imperial lost their first match to fellow quarter-finalists Strathclyde, recovered by beating Exeter and St Andrews, then lost to Warwick in the preliminaries and recovered again by comfortably beating King's in the eliminators. They were the same four as those five previous games: 

Justin Wong, from Hong Kong, studying Maths

Katie Marrow, from the Peak District, studying Physics

Captain: Michael Kohn, from North London, studying Pure Maths

Imran Rahman, from Petaling Jaya in Malaysia, studying Theoretical Physics

 

Durham came straight through the earlier stages with wins over Leicester and Edinburgh, then defeated Strathclyde in the preliminaries, but then lost to Balliol in the qualifiers. They were also the same four as those prior matches: 

Harry Regan, from Sevenoaks, studying Liberal Arts 

Tom Banbury, from Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire, studying History

Captain: Holly Parkinson, from Brighton, studying Physics

Thomas Wilkening, from Ramsgate, studying Biology

 

Off we set once again then, and the match got off to a false start as neither team got the first starter. Mr Kohn picked up where he left off last time by getting the second, and the Londoners began with two bonuses from their first set. Durham set off the mark on the third starter with Mr Wilkening, and they took took just one bonus from a complicated set on years and physical constants. The Wearsiders took two further starters, one of them preceded by Imperial losing five, and they took three bonuses out of six. The first picture round, on temporary capitals during wars, went to Imperial; one correct bonus left them trailing 50-30.

The next starter asking after a planet saw a race to the buzzer when it was mentioned that Titania was one of its moons; Mr Rahman won the race to say 'Uranus' in the way most avoid so as not to be sniggered at! No bonuses followed, but Mr Wong took the next starter and a full bonus set, another about pairs of place names whose letters form Greek letters, gave them a full set. Ms Marrow then ensured all four Imperial players had a starter to their name; another full set duly followed. The music round, on classical 'sicilianas' went to Imperial; two bonuses followed, one so quickly even Paxo was caught out(!), after which they now led 110-50.

Back came Durham into the game with Mr Regan first in with 'Polonius', and the Shakespearean theme continued with their bonuses, but they couldn't add to their score with them. Imperial soon got going again with Mr Kohn once again doing the honours, and two bonuses being taken (I got El Greco). The second picture round, on paintings of witches, went to Durham; two correct bonuses meant they were still very much in the game, trailing 130-80.

Their task became a bit harder, though, when Ms Marrow identified the buttercup for the next starter; a sole bonus followed. Mr Banbury kept his side in the game by taking the next starter and a full set of bonuses deservedly took the Wearsiders into three figures and kept them in the game if they could keep it going. But when Mr Rahman took the next starter, and two bonuses on solar flares were taken, that was game over. Mr Regan did the right thing and took a flyer on the next starter, but was wrong and lost five; Mr Kohn confirmed his side's win by taking the points and a full set of bonuses on Romania was taken. The Imperial captain took the final starter, but the gong interrupted their discussion of the second bonus; Imperial won 200-100.

A good contest between two good teams that, again, wasn't that one-sided until right at the end. Well done to Imperial, worthy winners and best of luck in the semis! And well done to Durham too, a good team who deserved to get this far and would've been worthy semi-finalists too, thanks for playing!

The stats: Mr Kohn was, once again, the best buzzer of the night with five starters, taking his running total to 38(!), while Messrs Regan, Banbury and Wilkening got two each for Durham, Mr Banbury ending their series their best buzzer with 16. On the bonuses, Imperial managed 19 out of 32, and Durham 9 out of 18, and both sides incurred one penalty each.

Next week's match: Magdalene vs Strathclyde

Only Connect entered the semi-finals, with the Whodunnits vs the Puzzle Hunters. The former led 5-2 after a first round that saw a first for the show in the form of a flashback to a previous episode (is this Only Connect or later years Deal or No Deal?!), before a better second round saw the latter take a 9-7 lead. Six each on the Walls left the Puzzle Hunters ahead 15-13 going into Missing Vowels, and they just maintained it to win 20-16; they go through to the final, the Whodunnits to the third place play-off.

 

Mastermind, meanwhile, was won by Mark Robotham, for whom it was another comfortable victory, 21 points, seven clear of the joint second placed contenders on 14.

University Challenge 2020-21: Elimination Quarter-Final 2: Birkbeck vs Strathclyde

Good evening folks, and welcome back! After a week when I found and downloaded Settlers II, an old game my household thoroughly enjoyed playing twenty years ago! And we're currently being reminded how addictive, and frustrating, it can be! On with UC, and tonight we concluded the second phase of the QFs with the second eliminator...

Birkbeck soundly defeated Reading in the first round and then Open in the second, but came unstuck in a high quality preliminary to Magdalene 240-140. They were the same four as before: 

Jonathan Taylor, from London, studying Environment and Sustainability

Nicky Clarke, from Leicestershire, studying Early Modern History

Captain: Jonathan Williams, from London, graduated in Classics

Joshua Mutio, from St Helens, graduated in PPE

 

Strathclyde defeated fellow quarter-finalists Imperial in the first round, and then Manchester in the second, but their preliminary against Durham 155-115. They too were unchanged from before: 

Cameron Welsh, from Glasgow, graduated in Applied Statistics

David Curran, from Glasgow, studying Civil Engineering

Captain: James Whittle, from Glasgow, studying Power Systems Engineering

Tom Starr-Marshall, from Colindale in London, studying Speech and Language Therapy

 

So off we set once more, and it was Mr Williams who opened the night's scoring with 'Paradise' (poorly timed, given that Death in Paradise came off air over a week ago!); the London side took a full set of bonuses on the French revolution. But an unlucky penalty allowed Strathclyde to follow off the mark, and they tied the scores with two bonuses from a complicated set on works ending and beginning with the same letters. Mr Welsh then gave the Scots side the lead with two successive starters; the first bonus set were all dropped, but the second, another complicated one about capital cities, gave them two correct. The first picture round, on the records of noted tennis players, went to Strathclyde too; another two correct gave them a lead of 70-20.

Five were then lost to a pedantic penalty, but Birkbeck couldn't venture an answer. Mr Taylor then got the Londoners going again though, and an excellent bonus set on the Stranglers classic 'No More Heroes' gave them a second full house. A second starter in a row to Birkbeck and two correct answers tied the scores up, but Mr Welsh duly reclaimed the lead for Strathclyde; two bonuses on Tracey Emin were taken. Neither team recognised Neneh Cherry for the music starter; the bonuses, on tracks from the Red Hot + Blue charity album, went to Strathclyde, and saw Jimmy Somerville get mistaken for a woman for the second series running! They got the other two right though, taking their lead to 105-65.

Two successive penalties, one of them pedantic, dropped the Scots side back into double figures, but Birkbeck couldn't capitalise on either. Mr Whittle eventually recouped the lost points, and ensured all four Strathclyde players had a starter to their name; one bonus followed. The second picture round, on members of the Detection writers club, went to Birkbeck; a full set of bonuses took the scores to 110-90.

Still either team's game, and a very quick buzz from Mr Williams took Birkbeck into three figures; just one bonus on winners of the Abel maths prize was taken, leaving them five adrift with not much time left. Back came Strathclyde with Mr Welsh once again doing the honours; bonuses on Areas of Outstanding National Beauty didn't give them any more points, but when Mr Curran took the next starter, that was game over. One bonus was taken, and the gong prevented them taking another; Strathclyde won 135-105.

A low scoring but enjoyable contest between two pleasant teams, well done both, and well done on clapping each other at the end, always good to see! Well done to Strathclyde, and best of luck in the play-offs! Hard lines to Birkbeck, but a very good series of performances earlier on, and no shame in going out now, thanks very much for playing!

The stats: Messrs Williams and Welsh were joint best buzzers of the night with four each; Mr Williams ends the series his side's best buzzer with thirteen starters over four matches. On the bonuses, Birkbeck managed an impressive 12 out of 15 (with one penalty) and Strathclyde 12 out of 27 (with three penalties); equal on the bonuses then, so those four extra starters won the game.

Next week's match: either Imperial vs Durham or Magdalene vs Strathclyde (I am reliably informed these are the correct fixtures)

Only Connect concluded the quarter-finals with the Severns vs the Apres Skiers. The teams were tied on 2-all after the first round, before the Skiers pulled into an 11-2 lead after the second. A better wall helped the Severns pull it back to 15-9 going into Missing Vowels, but the Skiers pulled back away on that and won 21-11.

 

Mastermind was won comfortably by Tom Gibson, whose highly impressive performance of 14 on General Knowledge gave him a winning score of 21, five clear of the second placed contender.

University Challenge 2020-21: Qualification Quarter-Final 2: Balliol vs Durham

Good evening folks, and welcome back! The second qualification quarter-final tonight, between two teams who may have gone a bit under the radar compared to other teams in the QFs, but tonight, one of them would join Warwick in the semi-finals; the runners-up would join Magdalene and Imperial in a high quality line-up for the play-offs.

Balliol College Oxford got here after a low scoring first round win over Clare of Cambridge, a much higher scoring second round win over St John's of Cambridge, and then a 145-95 win over King's in the preliminaries. They were unchanged from that match: 

Ben Tomasi, from Perth in Australia, graduated in Law 

Solenne Scholefield, from Bath, studying Classics

Captain: Michael O'Connor, from Blackheath in London, graduated in Philosophy and Politics, about to start a graduate degree in Philosophy

Lily Crowther, from Royal Leamington Spa, studying History

 

Durham arrived at this match after a comfortable first round win over Leicester, a slightly closer second round win over Edinburgh, before their preliminary match saw them survive a late fightback to beat Strathclyde 155-115. They were also unchanged from before: 

Harry Regan, from Sevenoaks, studying Liberal Arts

Tom Banbury, from Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire, studying History

Captain: Holly Parkinson, from Brighton, studying Physics

Thomas Wilkening, from Ramsgate, studying Biology

 

So off we set once again, and Ms Crowther opened the night by identifying 'O'Brien' as the surname linking various named persons; the Oxonians opened with two bonuses on locales whose names begin with P and end in A. Ms Crowther took a second starter in a row, and another two bonuses were taken, before Mr O'Connor took the third; just one bonus set from a second set on place names went this time. A penalty then allowed Durham to open their scoring, and they also took a sole bonus from their first set. Neither side took the first picture starter; the bonuses, on provinces which are part of multiple countries, went to Balliol, who drew a blank on them too, leaving the scores at 60-15.

 

Mr Regan took a second starter for Durham, and the Wearsiders took a single bonus on genetics. Ms Crowther then took the next starter, the answer to which was, ironically, the wrong answer she'd lost five for earlier! (Can't recall that happening before) Ms Scholefield gave the Oxonians a second starter in a row, and two bonuses took them into three figures. The music round, on classical pieces involving gardens, went to Balliol; a single correct bonus gave them a lead of 115-30.

A penalty gave Durham the chance to pull some points back, but they couldn't take it, and Balliol duly recouped the lost points with a starter and single bonus putting them a starter away from a three figure lead. But Mr Wilkening took the next starter to reawaken Durham; they also took just one bonus on snow and ice, a set which gave us a return of 'hoar', which you may recall wrongly came up on the show a while back! The puerile humour continued as Ms Scholefield correctly supplied 'FO' for the next starter(!), and two bonuses gave them that 100 point lead. The second picture round, on carte de visites of abolitionists, went to Balliol; two correct took their lead to 165-45.

 

The game was long over as a contest, just a question of how high the teams could get. A penalty from Balliol allowed Durham to avoid joining the Sub 50 club, and the Wearsiders took two bonuses on particle colliders used by CERN. Mr Banbury took a second starter in a row, but bonuses on English waterfalls failed to add to their score. Mr O'Connor took the final starter for Balliol, and the Oxonians ended the night with a single bonus from a tricky set asking who was US president when various listed works were created. And that was the gong; Balliol won 175-75.

 

A lower scoring match than of late, but a good one still, played in good spirit by both teams. Well done to Balliol on another good performance, and very best of luck in the semi-finals! And best of luck to Durham too in the play-offs.

The stats: Mr O'Connor was, again, the best buzzer of the night with five starters, while Mr Banbury was best for Durham with three. On the bonuses, Balliol managed 16 out of 33 (with three penalties) and Durham 5 out of 15.

Next week's match: Birkbeck vs Strathclyde

Only Connect reached its third QF, with the Dungeon Masters vs the Barons, yet another avoidable rematch. The latter narrowly led 4-3 after the first round, which extended to 9-5 after the second. Two very difficult walls followed, with both teams only managing pickup connection points; the Barons now led 11-8, but the Dungeon Masters fared better in the final round to win 17-14.

 

Mastermind, meanwhile, was won by Briony Havergill, who led by two points after the specialist round, before ending the general knowledge round level with second place Sue Kendall on 16, winning three passes to six. Stuart Mathieson and Trevor Abrahams finished two and three further behind respectively.