Henderson here - the nerves really kicked in for this one! At least 3 bonuses that I had a decent idea for (which ended up being correct) that I didn’t voice as a result, which is stupid I know - was definitely feeling the QFs pressure. At least I hope I managed to save a little face with the final starter! Stellar performance from the rest of my team though, pulling through in a classic Trinity close game, and well done to Open too who could easily have taken the win on another day
Well, no one ever knows the answers the players _don’t_ voice so you can feel a bit sheepish, especially when they turn out to be correct, but the rest of us are none the wiser and there’s really no need to save face. And you really did more than that with that final starter-you clinched the game by preventing Open from getting the starter and the bonuses and tying or, more likely, pulling ahead and winning. So, in the end, take a bow! You’re the real hero of the team (not to take anything away from your stellar teammates).
Congratulations to you and everyone on our team! That was a really stressful game, especially near the end when we were desperately trying to close the gap. Congratulations to Open as well - they were a very strong team and it could so easily have gone the other way. There were a few unfortunate moments on my part, like when I ended up completely mixing up Margaret of Denmark with Margaret, Maid of Norway and was two centuries out, but overall I think both teams did very well overall.
This is the first time I have seen Rajan saying "Plenty of time" to a team and they actually end up winning. Jaksina was amazing for his team. He did stumble at the beginning but didn't let that affect him. For the last starter I knew Henderson would get it and that was crucial from preventing the opponent to get that starter.
This was an excellent match. It's nice to see all eight players contributing--a very rare sight. There have been quite a few close matches this season. As always, thank you Cosmic Pumpkin for making it possible for people in the US and around the world to see these. It is a highlight of my week.
Episode of the series so far. Was delighted with my own score tonight as well, and my mother got a full round on Stevie Wonder. So a happy household here 😂
Thank you for doing the statistics. You do an absolutely phenomenal job. It is really impressive. I'm always curious myself about the total number of questions asked: 22 rounds (21 rounds completed, and the starter and first bonus question in the 22nd round before the game ended) 26 starter questions (22 answered correctly, plus an additional 4 starter questions which neither side got right) 64 bonus questions (21 rounds x 3, plus one bonus question in the 22nd round) 90 questions asked in total (26 starter + 64 bonus) 580 points available in total (26 x10, plus 64 x 5) 62.1% of the 580 points available were answered correctly ((190 + 170)/580) Trinity 32.8% of the total points available answered correctly (190/580) Open 29.3% of the total points available answered correctly (170/580)
With less than five minutes in the match 22:55 Trinity - Cambridge is behind by 60 points (115 to Open’s 175) and, rather than do what any sensible team would do, i.e., succumb to the ineluctable and sink into despair, they make a mad dash for victory and manage to surpass Open in about three minutes-Jeremi Jaksina starts the ball rolling with the correct answer to which dynasty began with Ardashir and ended with Yazdegerd III 22:56, as one might expect from someone pursuing a masters degree in genetics. Perhaps Open team captain’s Ann Gavaghan’s what-the-heck stabs at SI unit prefixes, e.g., “Gajillion” 22:17, “defocused” the Open team a bit. (I’m all for guessing but it helps if the answers are at least _somewhat_ plausible. Imperial’s no-nonsense Suraiya Haddad probably would have passed and nonchalantly steamrolled ahead.) The teams seemed unusually balanced and well-matched-really, the match could have gone either way-and at least we’ll get to see each of them in upcoming matches.
@@ubiergo1978 It’s a tough call because. obviously, you’re not penalized for guessing incorrectly and any guess _might_ be the right answer whereas no guess at all can’t be. _But,_ in a case like this one, with really stab-in-the-dark answers, you could almost _feel_ the momentum leaking out of the team like the air out of a slowly deflating tire. You might as well spend that time dealing with questions that you know, or reasonably think you know, the answers to, as Imperial did.
I don't think the SI unit answers defocused the Open team. If anything I read the levity as a sign that they weren't going to let the pressure get to them.
@@ProuvaireJean That might be. But there was no pressure at that point-they were 60 points ahead-so, to me, it felt like, after that, they just lost the momentum. Or maybe Trinity just picked up their game. Obviously, it’s hard to say which happened (if not both) and I’m just speculating.
I think this is rather speculative. 5 minutes are about a sixth of the total time and 60 points is three to four questions depending on correct bonus questions. So I don't see why giving up would be sensible, especially when there are starters that you know. I'm also not convinced as to whether Open was refocused, they just didn't know the starters and both teams had to hear the full question and even then got one wrong.
Great effort from both teams - most enjoyable! Good luck to both in the coming weeks. You have your work cut out for you. (Hi Ellie!) Thank you so much, CP, for our weekly dose of smarty-pantses. 😊
Excellent affair - 22 starters for 10 answered so pretty brisk pace - 15/34 and 15/30 on bonuses isn't the highest, but TBH only Imperial have had the better rate in the QFs. I did fancy the winners on the back of their facing of I think tougher opponents to get here, but the losers if they can muster that have a decent chance of surviving to at least the play-offs 😀!
Thanks CP! Good match but can’t see either team ending up with the trophy! I’ve noticed whenever a player is lauded by Amol during the intros they invariably have a down day! The curse of Rajan, apparently!!
From Allen, Texas, thanks to CosmicPumpkin for some culture. I did get a few no-answers (and all the cartoon ones, but that's b/c I watched lots of American cartoons as a kid :D )
Thanks again, CosmicPumpkin! I'm watching this a few days removed due to real life events, But what a comeback from the winning team! A true test of character. The good news is we get to see both teams again. My best to both teams, and each individual.
Blawwwww wimin, wimin, wimin. Isn't this whole thing getting so very wimmin, wimmin, wimmin? So disappointing to see how the bbc has gotten so wimmin, wimmin, wimmin.
I'm always surprised when no one knows the capitals of countries. Like here, no one knew that Praia is the capital of Cape Verde. In a competition with such high stakes, I'd have thought there'd be at least one team member who has memorized them all.
This is the fourth time that Amol Rajan says how many starters an individual player got in a previous game, and the fourth time that that team has gone on to lose...
Mr Rajan's always telling the losing team they had bad luck is not only tiresome but unfair. Of course, there's luck involved but in this case, the captain of the losing team had a good many wrong answers, which would suggest that although the team's performance was impressive, the winning team was better (would even suggest that Davidson was mvp. Could easily be said in a polite manner, as did Mr Paxman, who (as far as I recall) never banged on about bad luck.
God forbid a general knowledge quiz tries to ask for more general knowledge. We should just have all the questions be about Wittgenstein, the Mohs hardness scale and Shakespeare.
Question: do contestants/or any students ever consider how, er, truly 'challenging' it would be to rapidy accumulate and retain knowledge without the internet, their smartphones etc - just books-books-books and depressing dusty old libraries. Tech cheats ! Paul G
