Mastermind 2024: Semi Final 2

The Tale of the Tape

Stephen Dodding	12	0	17	0	29	0	-
Rob Jones	12	0	12	0	24	0	-
George Twigg	13	0	10	0	23	0	-
Sharon Reading	7	0	12	0	19	0	-

Hello, and welcome. Last night saw the second of our Mastermind 2024 semi finals. All of our contenders managed double figure GK scores in the heats, and 3 of them managed at least a dozen in their specialists, so the result was not by any means a foregone conclusion.

First to the chair was Rob Jones. Rob was sixth on my unofficial table of contenders based on the first round. Last night he was answering on the Cheltenham Gold Cup from 1960 until the present day. I never did a preview of this show for one reason and another, but if I had I would have said this was a subject where I might scrape 1 or 2. As it was I scored 1 on Norton’s Coin’s starting price. I actually met the horse once – Sirrel Griffiths, his trainer was based in Nantgaredig, and knew Mary’s 4^th stepfather (I think my mother in law has a thing about wedding cake). Rob did well and took his score into double figures which gave him at least a chance in the GK round.

Sharon Reading was, according to my unofficial trainer, the outsider in the field. She scored 7 points on specialist in her first round heat. That’s respectable, but the semi final can be a whole different ball game. So although she managed a respectable 7 again, this time on the films of Sir Ridley Scott, she must have known in her heart of hearts that she was out of the running to all intents and purposes as she returned to her chair.

Stephen Dodding, well, Stephen was the top of my unofficial table of first round performances. In the heats he had scored an excellent 12 on specialist and if he could get there or thereabouts he’d be in with an excellent shout in the GK, having scored 17 in the heats. He didn’t quite manage 12 but he scored an excellent 11 on the band Genesis from 1967 – 1977. I’d scored two on the films of Ridley Scott, and I added another three on this to take the aggregate to 6.

Which only left George Twigg, who was answering on the Prose Edda. George was 8^th on my unofficial first round table, where he’d scored a brilliant 13 on Specialist. Well, he didn’t quite match that, but he did the next best thing and scored 12 to take the lead. I’m not even sure if I would have made this my banker subject had I made a prediction. The fact if though that I studied Old Icelandic as part of my English degree, and I’ve always loved the work of Snorri Sturluson in general, and the Prose Edda in particular. So to cut a long story short I answered 9 of these, which I believe is my highest specialist score of the series, to give me a whopping 15 as aggregate.

So essentially there three runners left who were contending the win. Before any of them got the chance for a run at the tape, though, Sharon returned to the chair. I’m glad she gave it a good old lash, too. She scored 10, another double figure GK score, and could walk away knowing that she is a Mastermind semi finalist, and managed a respectable 17 .

Rob Jones was next to return to the chair. Rob must have known that he had to go hell for leather, set the highest score that he could and hope to hang on to the top slot until the end of the show. He did a pretty good job, too. He added 11 to his score, and importantly he did not incur any passes either, and this set the target at 21 and no passes.

Stephen had provided the finest GK round of the whole of the first round heats and I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him repeat this in his GK round last night. Right, you may have had this experience yourselves at some time. Occasionally, while you’re watching the show, you’ll see what you might think of as a rogue round. A round where two or three stinkers appear at intervals and stop you in your tracks. This is all in the eye of the beholder, but let me just put it this way. If I had been sitting in Stephen’s chair I wouldn’t have wanted to face this GK round. As I said, it's all relative. Any you don’t know are hard and any you do know are easy. Stephen’s chances dwindled as the round progressed and he finished with 9 for 20.

Which meant it was a two horse race between George Twigg and Rob. George needed 9 and no passes to tie with Rob. He got them. Then he added another 4 correct answers to completely seal the deal. It was the best GK round of the night and gave him a clear win with 25 and no passes. It really was a good round, and he deserved his place in the final. In his piece to camera he said that he thought he was capable of better then the GK round in his heat. He certainly proved that! Well done, sir, and the very best of luck in the Grand Final.

The Details

Rob Jones	The Cheltenham Gold Cup 1960 - Present	10	0	11	0	21	0
Sharon Reading	Films of Sir Ridley Scott	7	0	10	0	17	0
Stephen Dodding	Genesis 1967 - 1977	11	0	9	1	20	1
George Twigg	The Prose Edda	12	-	13	0	25	0