University Challenge 2022 Semi Final - Reading v. Edinburgh

The Teams

Reading

Sylvian Jesudoss

Margaret Ounsley

Michael Hutchinson (capt.)

Kira Bishop

Edinburgh

Ben Russell Jones

Lewis Thomas

Rishi Sundar (capt.)

Niall Karunartne

Last night was going to be the end of a long road for one of two teams who have provided much to enjoy during this year’s series. On paper, Edinburgh were unbeaten, while Reading lost one of their quarter finals. However, the fact is that Reading only lost to the might of Imperial, whom Edinburgh had not had to face. Add this to the fact that Reading were packing the buzzer power of the Michael Hutchinson and Margaret Ounsley combination, and it would have been a brave person who confidently predicted the outcome of this one.

I had the first starter – ‘Oxford on the surface but Liverpool below’ which clearly pointed to William Gladstone. Michael Hutchinson went for his shooting irons but was beaten in the race by Lewis Thomas. People with the surname Smith brought 2 bonuses. One of the answers was William ‘Strata’ Smith – I thought he created Charisma Records and managed Genesis. Michael Hutchinson took his first starter, knowing that a series of events all took place in or either side of 1904. The prehistoric Botai Culture – no, me neither – brought two bonuses. Another fine buzz from Lewis Thomas identified the word oblate for the next starter. The measurement of interspecies intelligence promised but little for the bonuses, I actually managed a couple, but Edinburgh just missed out on any. So to the picture round, and a map showing the trajectory of a space probe. Respect to Rishi Sundar for recognising Cassini-Huygens. Respect to the whole Edinburgh team for getting a full house on three more of the same. Michael Hutchinson, wary of letting Edinburgh stretch their lead, came in with a good buzz to identify Buck Mulligan from “Ulysses”. Two bonuses on sculptor Dame Elizabeth Frink meant that at the 10 minute mark, Edinburgh had a slim lead of 55 – 40.

I was surprised that neither of the teams managed to add up the number of psalms in the Bible, the number of Shakespeare sonnets and the number of tales in the Decameron to the nearest 100. Michael Hutchinson knew that Chess960 has another name which concatenates Random with Fischer. Bonuses on films scored by Mica Levi brought them the one bonus they needed to level the scores. Nobody knew that Zaragoza is the capital city of Aragon. Edinburgh, in the shape of Ben Russell Jones, struck back when he recognised a description of Henry James’ The Wings of the Dove. Some stuff I didn’t understand about matrices and determinants followed. They made enough sense for Edinburgh to bring them two correct answers. Margaret Ounsley, as she’s done throughout the series, popped up to correctly answer a starter which caused furrowed brows among all the other players, knowing the Trial of the Pyx. Bonuses on the poetry of John Keats sounded good, but we both only picked up two, missing out on woe-begone. This again levelled the scores. With the music starter we heard a song which sounded like Madonna’s voice from the 80s, but not any song that I knew. I think Margaret Ounsley felt the same, as she seemed surprised when JP confirmed that her answer of Madonna was right. More moments commemorated in an exhibition that defined New York’s music scene in the 80s included Kid Creole and the Coconuts singing the happiest song ever written about telling a child that you are not their biological parent. I knew that one, and the Laurie Anderson O Superman, which was the only one Reading managed. However, they were now in the lead for the first time in the match. Nobody recognised a description of the larch for the next starter. Michael Hutchinson came in too early for the next starter and lost five, allowing Ben Russell Jones to correctly answer that ‘The Assyrian came down’ referred specifically to Sennacherib. My early obsession with dinosaurs meant that I knew that saurischia and ornithischia are respectively lizard hipped and bird hipped dinosaurs – well they were, anyway. Yeah, what the hell, I did award myself a lap of honour for that one. Come to think of it I took a full house on that set. Unlike Edinburgh, who missed out on bonus just when they needed them most. Which meant that the teams were tied on 85 at the 20 minute mark. Altogether now – squeaky bum time!

Nobody knew the physicists Burbidge and Burbidge for the next starter. The Hutchinson quick draw won the buzzer race to identify ancient Egypt as the country divided into administrative districts called Nomes. Garden nomes? Travesti, that is, trouser roles in opera, brought a full house at exactly the right time. For the second picture starter Michael Hutchinson was first to buzz in to identify a photo showing a production of Six Characters in Search of an Author. Images from three other theatre of the absurd works brought two bonuses. For the first time this gave Reading a lead that could not be wiped out in just one visit to the table. If you concatenate the second letters of the symbols for lead, gold, tin and silver you get the word bung. Rishi Sundar played a captain’s innings to take that one. They could have done with a full house, but only took 1 bonus, meaning that they were still two scores away. Rishi Sundar tried for a double on a quote from Shakespeare but zigged with Lear while Margaret Ounsley zagged with Othello. Revolutions of the 21^st century meant that Reading’s lead extended to 5. Crucially, there just didn’t seem to be enough time left for Edinburgh to take the two full houses they needed. Lewis Thomas did take the next starter, knowing that Austria was the next country clockwise in a list of those bordering Slovakia, but they didn’t get the kindly set of bonuses they needed, getting ballet for their pains. They reduced the gap to 30, but it was all too little too late. We were gonged during the next starter. Reading won by 145 to 115.

It will be little consolation to Edinburgh, but that was an excellent match between quality teams, worthy of a semi-final. As for the final – well, Reading lost their quarter final to Imperial, but it has happened before that a team has beaten the same team that beat them in the quarters when facing them in the finals. Whatever the case, there’s good buzzing in both teams, so we should be in for a fine final.

Interesting Fact That I Didn’t Already Know Of The Week

Pyx – as in the trial of the – means a small box.