University Challenge 2025 Round Two - Warwick v. Oriel

 The Teams

Warwick

Ananya Govindarajan

Thomas Hart

Oscar Siddle (Capt.)

Benjamin Watson

Oriel,Oxford

Samin Taseen

Theo Sharkey

Danaan Kilburn (Capt.)

Tom Armstrong

Here we are dearly beloved at the last of the second-round matches. You see that’s what happens when a proper quiz show keeps the celebrity (well, academic celebrities in UC’s case) Christmas specials confined to Christmas rather than dragging them on throughout January – I’m looking at you, Mastermind.

Thomas Hart took his first starter of the night with various applications of the adjective alien. A lovely UC special set on golfing terms found in Shakespeare - “Is this a niblick I see before me? Nay, sirrah, for ‘tis Birnham 3 wood.” Neither of these was mentioned, but the set brought a single bonus from a gettable trio. For the next starter Thomas Hart identified a Ingmar Bergman quote about his film ‘Persona’. Slavonic epic paintings brought us both just the one bonus. Pioneering figures in palliative care gave Benjamin Watson his first starter. Now, I thought that kinematics were old films, but sadly no. Still, it did at least give us the answer ‘jerk’ with a question that wasn’t actually – how would you describe Piers Morgan? So that’s something. The picture starter showed us a description of a croissant in French. Tom Armstrong took that one to get his team into the black. More baked goods of French origin described in French brought just a single bonus for éclair. Works illustrated by Leonora Carrington fell to Oscar Siddle for the next starter. Composer Gerald Barry brought Warwick a full house. This meant that they led by 80 – 10 at the ten minute point.

Theo Sharkey came in too soon for the next starter on a city in Northern Ireland and thus missed the clinching information that it shared its name with towns and cities in Maine and Wales. Thomas Hart snapped up that piece of low hanging fruit. Video games set primarily underwater brought a brace of bonuses. Gawd alone knows what the chemistry starter that followed was on about but Samin Taseen knew the answer was kinase. Honestly, it’s a different language. Names of cities in the multilingual Austro-Hungarian Empire brought only the 1 bonus. Thomas Hart knew the Kimberley Diamond Mine for the next starter. Bonuses on the Torch Complex – me neither – brought a single correct answer. For the music starter Tom Amstrong recognised All Shook Up. Other original songs that Elvis would later make cover versions of brought Oriel 2 bonuses. I personally did not know that Elvis covered Tutti Frutti. Ate a lot of it, yes, but recorded it? Nobody knew the next starter about the word tower. Now, I’m very sorry, but knowing that astatine is directly below iodine in the periodic table was above and beyond the call of duty for me and thoroughly deserving of my lap of honour. Samin Taseen took that one as well. 19^th century French monarchism brought two bonuses for Oriel. With the next starter it became increasingly clear that it was referring to Poundbury and Benjamin Watson won the buzzer race to give the answer. Trickster animals in folklore brought a pleasing full house. Thomas Hart knew works either beginning or ending with Yes. I’ll be honest I missed much of the bonuses that followed, but Warwick had the lot of them. This meant that on twenty minutes they were sitting pretty, leading 170 – 60.

Phillippa Foot fell to Benjamin Watson for the next starter. Indian physicists proved very much to Warwick’s collective liking and they took a full house. Inexplicably I knew Bose for the last, but I have no idea how I knew it. I think that Thomas Hart mistook the Clifton suspension bridge for Telford’s Menai Bridge for the next picture starter. Theo Sharkey tapped that one into the open goal. More of IKB’s engineering works brought just one bonus. Still, at least Oriel had some momentum as Theo Sharkey identified the Hadean Aeon. 20^th century archaeological historian Sir John Summerson saw them take one, although failing a mispronunciation it would have been two. Theo Sharkey took another starter knowing the language Occitan. St, Teresa of Aston Vila did not provide any bonus points. Neither did St. Teresa of Avila for that matter. Oscar Siddle won the buzzer race to answer that the Trucial States were now known as the United Arab Emirates. Good old quiz chestnut, that one. The bonuses on the old adjective darkling meant I was able to predict Dover Beach and Ode to a Nightingale would feature. Warwick did not add to their score. They didn’t need to. They already had 200.Theo Sharkey was on the right lines with his early buzz for the next starter, which did refer to Bodyline, but he lost five because the answer required was Douglas Jardine, which Warwick could not dredge up. Thomas Hart recognised meanings of the word curl and this brought up bonuses on scientists who gave their name to pathogens. 2 bonuses added a little more gilding to the Warwick score. Tom Armstrong identified the trail of tears for the next starter. There was just the time for one correct bonus, then the gong ended the competition. Warwick had won by 215 – 110.

Warwick achieved a BCR of 70, to Oriel’s 41, so it wasn’t just down to superior buzzing. But from early doors Oriel were playing catchup, and Warwick were deserved winners.

Amol Watch

Amol’s ‘plenty of time Oriel’ was timed at 11:36 this time. There was no mention of BCRs this time, but I was pleased to see Amol insisting on the first answer rule. Harsh but definitely fair.

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

I loved the idea of alien priories, mostly for the mental pictures the phrase gave birth to.

Baby Elephant Walk Moment

In biochemistry, serine, receptor tyrosine and cyclin-dependent can all be followed by what word to give – yeah, it’s short. But my God, it’s soporific. Dum de dumdum dum dum dum dum dumdum.