Mastermind 2026 Grand Final Specialist SUbjects

Silly me.  All of that guff in the preview and I haven’t even mentioned the specialist subjects for tomorrow’s Grand Final. They are:-

Dame Julie Andrews,

The Films of Danny Boyle,

Beatrix Potter,

Robert Burns,

Notre-Dame Cathedral

Jim Lovell.

Actually, as a set I really rather like them. I mean, there’s none of them which I’d pick as an absolute banker, but with a bit of luck and a following wind I might be able to score a point or two on all of them. There’s none of them that seem to carry a government health warning with them. Yes, there’s over 800 years worth of history to consider for Notre Dame, but it can be done. There were over 1900 years of History for London Bridge in my final and like I said, it can be done. I always think biographical subjects are a good fit for Mastermind, having definite limits to what you can be asked, and we have four of them. Beatrix Potter might prove problematical as there’s all of the books, and all of the pictures and all of the life. I read a biography of her a couple of years ago and there is a lot to deal with. Likewise, Julie Andrews is 90, and her career started as a child star, so even if you just concentrated on her stage and screen career there is a hell of a lot to learn. Robbie Burns wrote over 500 poems, without even touching his life and career. Jim Lovell, well there’s all of his career as an astronaut which is pretty well documented but that only accounts for about 12 years of his life. He was 97 when he passed away last August. That’s a lot of non-astronaut years to learn about. Finally, the films of Danny Boyle. I believe he has thus far had 16 films released. Sounds manageable? Well, when you consider that film and TV rounds do tend to concentrate on the events of the film/TV show, that’s a lot of films to watch, make notes on and learn.

Well, however our six finalists do in the show, I hope that you’ll join me in thanking them for giving it a go. Whatever happens, take satisfaction that you are a Mastermind finalist and nobody can ever take it away from you.

University Challenge 2026 Grand Final Preview

 The Tale of the Tape

	1st rd F	1st rd A	2nd rd F	2nd rd A	QF1 F	QF1 A	QF2 F	QF2 A	QF3 F	QF3 A	SF F	SF A
Edinburgh	200	105	180	150	195	80	105	85	/	/	155	110
Manchester	170	150	160	135	80	195	150	120	185	135	250	70

 

	For - Average	Against - Average	Margin - Average
Edinburgh	167	106	61
Manchester	166	115	51

 

Well, before we think about my comparative performance tables, let’s consider the fact that these teams met in the first set of quarter finals. Back then, it wasn’t really close. Edinburgh won by 195-80.

So are we looking at a foregone conclusion in the final? No. I’ve read my review of that quarter final match, and everything comes back to the starters. It usually does. In that match Manchester skipper Kai Madgwick answered 5 starters correctly. Now compared with his 10 in the semi final that looks as if it’s famine rations, while actually it’s a good performance. But nobody else in the Manchester team managed to answer a starter correctly. In a match where the skipper was getting beaten on the buzzer more than usual it really needed another member of the team to help ease the pressure just a little. As it was Johnny Richards of Edinburgh scored 7 starters which was more than Manchester scored all evening.

Alright, then, now let’s look at the comparative performances. There is only a 1 point difference in the teams’ average scores. When you factor in that on average Edinburgh’s average points difference is +61, while Manchester’s is+51, and that is affected by the match between the teams, then this suggests that they are a lot closer than their quarter final match suggests. There was no other team that faced both of our finalists so we don’t have that to compare.

Bearing this in mind, we have to speculate on why the score wasn’t closer when the teams met in the quarters. Maybe Edinburgh are just that tad faster on the buzzer and we’ll see a similar result in the final. That’s certainly possible. But there are other possible explanations. Maybe that particular set of starters happened to be more closely aligned to Edinburgh’s knowledge than Manchester, though the sheer blind luck of the draw. Maybe Johnny Richards was having an especially good night while Kai Madgwick was having an off night. That’s possible.

I always like a team which has people who can answer a wide enough range of starters in up to three of their seats. Edinburgh look stronger to me on this score than Manchester look. Now I grant you that a player who can answer you 10 starters in an evening has the ability to carry you to a win if they are on song. However the other side of that particular coin is that you are reliant on them not having a bad night. Last week we saw one of this series’ finest buzzers, Oscar O’Flanagan, having such a night. It can happen.

Mind you, that was largely because Kai Madgwick and his team started the contest at such a tremendous pace and it meant that Oscar and Imperial were forced to gamble and come in a little bit too early. What might happen, I wonder, if Manchester manage to get off to a similar start against Edinburgh? By the end of the quarters Edinburgh were the only unbeaten team left in the series. How will they cope if they find themselves under real pressure for the first time in this series?

Twist my arm behind my back and I’ll say Edinburgh to win, but if Kai Madgwick has another blinder that prediction won’t matter a damn.

Can’t wait.

Mastermind 2026 Grand Final Preview

 The Tale of the Tape

Lorna Frankel	1st round	12	0	12	0	24	0
Lorna Frankel	semi	13	0	10	0	23	0
Average		12.5	0	11	0	23.5	0
Diane Howe	1st round	12	0	14	1	26	1
Diane Howe	semi	9	3	11	2	20	5
Average		10.5	1.5	12.5	1.5	23	3
Ross Taylor	1st round	10	0	9	0	19	0
Ross Taylor	semi	12	0	15	0	27	0
Average		11.5	0	12	0	23	0
Danielle Connolly	1st round	11	0	13	0	24	0
Danielle Connolly	semi	11	1	6	2	17	3
Average		11	0.5	9.5	1	20.5	1.5
David Ford	1st round	11	0	16	0	27	0
David Ford	semi	9	0	10	1	19	1
Average		10	0	13	0.5	23	1
Miles Searle	1st round	9	0	13	0	22	0
Miles Searle	semi	11	0	15	0	26	0
Average		10	0	14	0	24	0

 

Yes, peeps, the above table shows how our 6 finalists in tomorrow night’s Grand Final have performed in their semi-finals and their first-roundheats. Now, if you’re looking for a prediction, well, I’m afraid that I’ve stopped doing that. Yes, I know in my heart of hearts that me predicting a winner cannot logically really scupper that contender’s chances. But I’m sick of getting it wrong all the time.

It’s probably just as well that I’m not trying to pick a winner, anyway, because this year is too difficult to call. Just in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve averaged out the points from each contender’s two shows, and 5 of our contenders have an average points total of between 23 and 24. 5 contenders separated by 1 point. Now, okay, that is only the average. But that in itself raised the point that generally there is a lot of inconsistency between the finalists’ performances in their first round, and in their semi, especially when it comes to general knowledge. In all likelihood the winner will need to have been the top, or very close to the top performer in general knowledge. So even in the case of the finalist with the lowest GK score from the semis, who is to say that they won’t have a GK round that is even better than their first round GK? Even in the case of the finalist with the highest GK score from the semis, who is to say that they won’t have a performance that is on a par with their first round GK?

So even though it is always a case of the final is there to be won by the person who manages to find their very best form on the night, it seems to apply even more for tomorrow than it normally does. Alright, I haven’t picked an actual winner for years, but the winner is usually one of the contenders I’ve thought was in with a chance. It hasn’t been won by an outsider. Well, if I’m honest, there really are no real outsiders this year. If any of these contenders has their best evening of the series, and the others don’t, then there’s our winner.

It’s not the time or place to reiterate the points I made last week about how I’d like to resolve the situation that can happen when two of the strongest contenders in the whole series get matched in the same heat. All I want to do now is to congratulate each of our 6 finalists for getting this far. I hope that the final proved to be a memorable and enjoyable experience for all of you, and I’m really looking forward to it.