The Teams
Imperial
Charlotte Stokes
Mattia Elkouby
Matthew Spry (Capt.)
Jaime Salamanca Camacho
Queen’s University, Belfast
Sarah Carlisle
Jason McKillen
Daniel Rankin ( Capt.)
Sam Thompson
After round two, but before the start of the quarter
finals, who would have predicted that these would be the first two teams to contest
an elimination match? Imperial had led Christ’s College with little time to go,
but lost out to some inspired buzzing. Christ’s are now in the semis. On the
other hand Queen’s had been comfortably beaten by Warwick, after showing good
form in the first two rounds.
A good buzz from Matthew Spry saw him identify the Spratly
Islands as lying in the South China Sea. Polish Philosopher Katarzyna de
Lazari-Redek – who is also a fantastic score in scrabble – brought Imperial a
full house for the best possible start. Daniel Rankin struck back for Queen’s
knowing that Jordan Peele founded Monkeypaw Productions. Author and cartoonist Darryl
Cunningham brought two bonuses – I’m a little surprised that they didn’t know fossil
hunter Mary Anning for the third. Daniel Rankin took his double knowing that
amongst other events, Erik inn Rauđr ( yeah –there’s a couple of years of
studying Old Norse for yer! ) discovered Greenland in the 10th century.
Places that have been likened to Gibraltar brought just the one bonus. So to the
picture starter showing the location of a National Reserve. Daniel Rankin knew
where it was when he suggested Kilimanjaro, but it wasn’t the name of the
reserve. Matia Elkouby zigged with the Serengeti, but should have zagged with
the Masai Mara. Now, time was that Avogadro’s constant constantly recurred in
UC questions. Not so much recently, but then, as with buses, if you wait long
enough two come along one after another. It was the last answer in one of the
GK rounds in Mastermind earlier in the evening and now Jaime Salamanca Camacho
paired it with Boltzmann’s Constant for the next starter. This gave Imperial
the picture bonuses showing three more places that have been the inspiration
for locations in Disney movies. They took two. Jason McKillen knew a play set
in six barber shops. Cryptic Maths and Physics questions aimed at revealing the
names of elements yielded nothing. So as we approached 10 minutes the teams
were level on 45 apiece.
I felt that both teams sat on their buzzer with the starter
question about the Book of Kings which surely had to be referring to the Queen
of Sheba. Matthew Spry grabbed that piece of low hanging fruit. Nicholas
Hawksmoor only yielded a single bonus. As so often it was the buzzer of Daniel
Rankin that brought Queen’s back with the term subaltern. The video game engine
known as SCUMM – nope, me neither – brought no further points, although it’s
always nice to see Guybrush Threepwood getting a name check. After a burst of
gobbledygook for the next starter, that man Rankin answered Mitochondria. Three
questions about films in the banlieue of Paris proved very much to Queen’s’
liking and they took a full house. For the music starter Sarah Carlisle and I
recognised “The Whole of the Moon” by the Waterboys at practically the same
time. More songs referencing the moon brought two bonuses, and Queen’s now had
a lead which would require two unanswered visits to the table for Imperial to close.
Charlotte Stokes earned one with the next starter which was leading
circuitously towards sesame seeds. Can you tell me how to get, how to get to
sesame seeds? I’m afraid that the bonuses on thin form solar cells meant nowt
to me At least Imperial managed one of them. Daniel Rankin either knew or
guessed that the artist in the next starter was Picasso. Ancient writings about
agriculture brought two correct answers. Matthew Spry knew that PAC stands for
probably approximately correct. A full set on animals and their tongues brought
Imperial to 100 and reduced the gap to 20. Neither team could dredge up Sir
Phillip Sidney for the next starter. So, just shy of 10 minutes, Queen’s led by
120 – 100.
Jaime Salamanca Camacho was a little unlucky with the next
starter, giving the Orange River and the Transvaal, while the answer required
was the river, the Vaal. Harsh, but correct. Mattia Elkouby knew that pizzicato
is derived from the Italian for to pinch. Bonuses on the inaugural TikTok UK
and Ireland book awards brought just one bonus but narrowed the gap to five.
Imperial took a five point lead with Matthew Spry recognising a photograph of Sally
Gunnell. Other winners of World, Olympic, European and Commonwealth gold medals
brought just one bonus. Look, I know nowt about RNA sequencing but Amol was
happy to accept this as the answer to the next starter from Charlotte Stokes. The
precisionism art movement brought Imperial two bonuses, with four and a bit
minutes left. Nobody knew a german economist for the next starter. However
Jason McKillen was in like a flash to link a term with Kurdistan for the next
starter. Queen’s took two of the ensuing bonuses on Nationalism. Sam Thompson
took the next starter on works linked by the word lullaby – and all 8 team
members had now taken a starter. No bonuses were taken on quotations. Sarah
Carlisle identified tracery for the next starter to take back the lead. Two letter
codes for versions of Wikipedia brought the two bonuses needed to stretch the
lead to 20. Mattia Elkouby won the race to identify the word anomalous, and two
bonuses on Richard Dawkins levelled the scores.
GGGOOOONNGGGGG!
So it all came down to one tie break starter. Who had been
the best buzzer in this match? Daniel Rankin and he it was who buzzed first to identify
that it was George II who was the English king born in the same decade as JS Bach.
That was it. Queen’s live on to fight another match. Imperial go home.
Most teams’ BCRs have been somewhat down in the quarter
finals from what they achieved before. Imperial managed 63 to Queen’s 47, which
shows that they were beaten on the buzzer. So farewell Imperial – so impressive
in the first two rounds, but it only goes to prove that you’re only as good as
your last performance.
Amol Watch
Amol, Amol, what do you think it adds to the show when you
tell us that the team who weren’t answering knew the answer the other team had
wrong? You do it a lot and I wish you wouldn’t. Respect to you though for the
ruling on the Vaal question. Amol – you cannot in one breath say ‘four and a
half minutes to go’ and in the next say ‘Plenty of time left. Queen’s !” One of
them can’t be true.
Interesting Fact That I Didn’t Already Know Of
The Week
The term pizzicato is derived from the Italian for ‘to
pinch’
Baby Elephant Walk Moment
The first examples of thin-form solar cells were based on a
form of silicon known as a-Si. The letter ‘A’ here stands for what term,
indicating that this form of silicon is non-crystalline, with its atoms instead
forming a continuous random network? Yes, Simon, it’s a dum de dumdum dum dum
dum dum dumdum from me.
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