Mastermind 2026 - Semi Final 3

The Tale of the Tape

Pete Simmonds	13	0	14	1	27	1
Eric Davies	12	0	12	0	24	0
Ross Taylor	10	0	9	0	19	0
Tomas Stevenson	8	0	9	3	17	3

 

Before we begin, let me pass on my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Tomas Stevenson. I did not know that he had passed away since the recording of the semi-final until the tribute at the end of the show. Rest in peace.

Well, after that it kind of puts everything into perspective. But it would be unfair to Tomas’ memory and to the other contenders if we did not review the show. So there looked to be a fairly widely spread roster for this third semi final. Pete Simmonds had been number 2 on our official table, Eric Davies joint 6^th, Ross Taylor joint 15^th and Tomas at 16^th.

Ross kicked off answering on the western films of Clint Eastwood. I got one which was one more than I expected. Ross was perfect . . . right up until the last question, where he zigged with sausages when he shoulda zagged with fried eggs. Nonetheless 12 is a serious statement of intent in the specialist round of a semi final.

Pete Simmonds’ specialist subject, Hieronymus Bosch, never made any western films to the best of my knowledge. Incidentally my knowledge of the subject brought me three points so was obviously better than I thought it would be. Pete didn’t get them all right but he managed to go so quickly that he still accrued 11 points which meant that whatever happened in the next two rounds he was going to be in contention at the turn around.

Tomas was next into the chair. He was answering on the studio albums of Bruce Springsteen. The questions proved to be unkind and he finished the round with 4 and 1 pass.

Eric Davies was answering on my ‘banker’ subject, Cyrille Regis. You know, I didn’t know that he was still going when the Premier League started. I did know enough to score 4 and take my aggregate to 9. Eric really knew his stuff and he achieved a specialist score in the teens with 13 – a rara avis indeed in the semi finals.

Tomas achieved his own double figure score in the GK round. It would not bring him the win, but it was a good round, which pretty much set the tone for what was going to follow.

Pete Simmonds had scored an excellent 14 on General Knowledge in the first round heats. If he could repeat this performance then the last two contenders would have to really improve upon their own first round GK scores. Now, it’s all in the eye of the beholder and yes, the ear of the behearer, but I found Pete’s round harder than the other three. Just the way I found it. They’re all easy if you know the answers. Pete did repeat his first round GK score, and I felt that this was an even better performance than his first round bearing in mind the difficulty of the questions. Game over?

Not necessarily. For Ross Taylor, who had scored 9 on GK in the heats had started his round very well. Then he continued his round very well. Then he finished his round very well, and on the way he passed the target before he breasted the tape with a wonderful score of 15 for 27. This was a fine, fine display of general knowledge quizzing. Whether this is his normal level and the score in the heats was an aberration, or a case of the questions falling his way to enable him to outdo himself – well, we’ll have a better idea of that when we see the final in a few weeks.

You have to feel for Eric Davis. The preceding two rounds had been so good that he must have felt as if he was staring down the barrel of a gun. Under the circumstances I give him credit for producing a GK round of 12 that was as good as his GK round in the heats. Only good enough for third place, but he can console himself that he would have been a contender in either of the other semi finals we have seen so far.

Mind you, Pete Simmonds’ 25 would have been good enough to win either of them. He’ll be missed in the final, but I wouldn’t describe it as a travesty of justice by any means. For Ross had come from nowhere and had to produce a brilliant performance to win – which he did. Many congratulations Ross. I thoroughly enjoyed your performance tonight. And following last year’s precedent I will not be scuppering any of our contenders’ chances by predicting who will win, so you’re all 6 of you in with a chance in the final.

The Details

Ross Taylor	Western Films of Clint Eastwood	12	0	15	0	27	0
Pete Simmonds	Hieronymus Bosch	11	0	14	1	25	1
Tomas Stevenson	Studio Albums of Bruce Springsteen	4	1	10	0	14	1
Eric Davies	Cyrille Regis	13	0	10	0	23	0

 

As a small PS, I had my laser eye surgery today and it seemed to go very well. So, hopefully, you’ll be stuck with my old nonsense for a while to come.