University Challenge S53E09 Balliol College, Oxford v Imperial

[@theresnothingness]

Imperial Lee is the true successor of Imperial Zeng

[@itissrinivasan]

Just my thought as well !!

[@sigma-freud]

Next, Imperial Ching

[@cheeseboi8769]

see a pattern 💀

[@deirdregillespie6764]

I want to adopt him!

[@cheeseboi8769]

nigha what@@deirdregillespie6764

[@michaellawlor5000]

Lee's knowledge of late 16th and early 17th Irish history remarkable. Even among the university educated, I'd be gobsmacked if even 5% of Irish people answered all 3 correctly like him. Impressive. I'm Irish by the way.

[@davidnicholas2856]

Lee is horrifying thus far, no doubt

[@PetroicaRodinogaster264]

you know what you know and don’t know what you don’t know. True intelligence is working out what you don’t know from clues given.

[@PetroicaRodinogaster264]

As soon as someone says “I am reading for …” you know they are snobs.

[@Paraninja]

I read this comment before watching and thought it would be something obscure but this is one of the most famous events in Irish history. Is it not taught in schools anymore? It’s certainly impressive for anyone not Irish to know but I would think more than five per cent of the population could answer all three of those questions.

[@deirdregillespie6764]

Agreed.

[@hattrick271]

I feel really bad for the losers here. Against almost any other team this season, they probably win or qualify as the highest scoring losers. Unfortunately, they ran up against the strongest team we've seen this season. Unless another team shows up with a similar performance, I don't see them dropping any games this season.

[@YourQueerGreatAuntie]

I'm especially impressed at a team getting all 3 questions on Irish history correct! A real mark of quality

[@castelodeossos3947]

And the one who knew is from Hong Kong.

[@gabsymalone6307]

That's a showstopper performance from the winners, and Amol's enthusiasm for the highest score of the series so far was great to see 😊. Such a shame for the losers; those three penalties knocked them just out of the HSL bracket. Rajan seems to be getting more and more confident - I make that 23 correctly answered starters for 10, which we've not had for I don't know how long 🙂.

[@kenmunsell1364]

Imperial was hitting on all cylinders. Very impressive and everyone contributed. I feel a bit sorry for Balliol.They had a good team but ran into a buzz saw.

[@ShaktiShetty]

Maier is such a fun captain - good spirit and communicative.

[@lindorsibande]

MATCH STATS BELOW *Balliol - Oxford: 145* *Imperial: 285* *Starter Questions Stats* BALLIOL - Oxford : 75 Cox = 0/1 {-5} Ellingham = 5/5 {50} Maier = 3/5 {30 minus 10} Trojanskis = 1/1 {10} Starter Success Rate: 82.82% IMPERIAL : 135 Lee = 7/7 {70} Jones = 5/7 {50 minus 5} Haddad = 1/1 {10} Debbath = 1/1 {10} Starter Success Rate: 87.50% *Bonus Questions Stats* BALLIOL - OXFORD: 70 Bonus Success Rate: 58.33% (14/24) IMPERIAL: 150 Bonus Success Rate: 71.48% (30/42) ----------------- *Top 4 Losing Scores* 1. Oxford Brookes (205) 2. Trinity Cambridge (175) 3. Southampton (155), Open (155)

[@lindorsibande]

_ELIMINATED_ 1. Birmingham 2. Jesus Cambridge 3. Strathclyde 4. King's Cambridge 5. Balliol - Oxford

[@zaphbrox8239]

Thanks @lindorsibande These stats provide a great summary to wrap it up after watching the quiz. Thanks also for posting the list of eliminated teams. One more request - since we are seeing phenomenal scores where some teams are clearly a cut above the rest, it would be great to get an idea of, say, the top 5 scores. I guess Imperial is the highest so far.

[@lindorsibande]

@@zaphbrox8239 Thank you for your comment. Your request is noted and I will do so!

[@freddiethecutestcavapoo9184]

Enjoy your stats! Thanks for continuing to do them.

[@zaphbrox8239]

@@lindorsibande Thanks for considering it. I guess the scores of the teams in contention would give an idea of their strength, and maybe how lucky they got, considering some of the losing teams' scores are phenomenal too. Here's what I have: Imperial 285 Emmanuel Cambridge 240 Universtiy of East Anglia 235 Hertford Oxford 230 Birkbek 220 Aberdeen 190 UCL 190 Manchester 185 Christ Church Oxford 180 Top 4 Losing scores (From your comment) 1. Oxford Brookes (205) 2. Trinity Cambridge (175) 3. Southampton (155), Open (155)

[@imokin86]

Thank you for the upload, dear Pumpkin! What a show. The winning team seems to have very few weaknesses. Possibly physics. But they have all their bases covered for most common subjects, be it history, art or geography. Everyone in the team was capable of quick answers, this is a huge advantage. They zoom through a bonus set and are poised to strike again. Shame to see the losing team go, they were actually quite strong and worked well together.

[@VLind-uk6mb]

Sensational performance from Imperial. Curiously, they were better on humanities questions than science ones!

[@WildXstElementZ]

Lee is a genius

[@emmapeel829]

FABULOUS match!! Fantastic teams both but the winners had them on buzzing in - supersonic! Congrats to the winner!! Loving this season so far - Amol a great host. Keeps things just humming along nicely. Thank you so much for bringing this to us, CP. 💞

[@WonderWhatHappened]

I do appreciate the time call out for the teams by Amol.

[@mattdavies2191]

Shall we just hand the title to Imperial already? Astonishing breadth of knowledge. Just a word about Amol Rajan, I'm getting used to and enjoying his presenting.

[@phucvan3583]

Fascinated by Imperial in SS49 and SS51 (especially Brandon and Zeng) and now Lee in SS53. Looking forward to seeing them in the final!

[@alij8920]

Thanks CP for a quality upload. Great match, feel that Balliol were just getting warmed up a bit too late. Lee on Imperial was outstanding. Amol has really settled in now, doing a grand job and he's very personable with the teams, nice bits of chat.

[@lindorsibande]

The national anthem questions at the end made me wish Balliol had a South African in their team (me, possibly. Haha). Could've helped place them in the top 4 losing scores. Under no circumstances could anyone have passed Afrikaans as a Bantu language, lol. It was a high pressure phase of the match, so it's actually understandable. Really enjoyed this one.

[@castelodeossos3947]

Very sorry, one doesn't think Afrikaans is a Bantu language because of pressure, only because of not knowing, which, believe it or not, is not a sin.

[@lindorsibande]

@@castelodeossos3947 I feel if they had the luxury of time to think more about it, "Zulu" would've come to mind. I'm pretty sure someone in that team knows of the Zulu people in SA. But to be fair to your point, I have a hard time digesting the fact that someone classed Afrikaans as Bantu. Considering the history of SA, that's quite... cringe.

[@sfumato8884]

Absolutely love the energy Amol brings to the show! He’s been wonderful. And it’s a treat to see strong teams like Imperial (and this Balliol team) shine as much as they can with the more brisk pace. Of course Paxman was doing his best given his circumstances, bless him, but at his slower pace we might not have seen those bright moments from Balliol toward the end. Imperial looks great, of course! I always look forward to their teams and this one did not disappoint. Thank you so much for the uploads. You have no idea how much better it makes my Mondays.

[@billbar8532]

Thanks very much, CosmicPumpkin. Regardless of the contestants. You'll always be a winner, as far as I am concerned. Especially, because of the subtitles...

[@mituldeychowdhury19]

Good to finally see someone from Calcutta on UC. They have a top-class quiz circuit in that part of the world.

[@alani3992]

but the Indian & the Arab could not get 'monsoon'.

[@chrishobbs58]

Thanks again, CosmicPumpkin, for the upload! Really appreciate you taking this on your shoulders. You rock! Once again, a runaway victory that was never in doubt. The winning team once again featured a very strong individual, and also was very well-balanced among it's other members. Another strong contender to go all the way. The only drama in the match was if the losing team could score enough to come back. A noble effort by both teams, and my best to each individual.

[@Ramboost007]

If you're wondering if the Imperial team this year are gonna be good or just a one-round wonder, just note that Imperial has a system of mentoring where previous UC contestants coach the current team. Zeng has probably tried his best to teach them the world map by now.

[@gooscarguitar]

Max Zeng wasn't involved at all. it was Fatima Sheriff and Michael Kohn who mentored this team

[@kurttaube5527]

Balliol had the misfortune of running into what may be the favorite to win the title. Another starter or two would have put Balliol in contention for the second chance playoff.

[@freddiethecutestcavapoo9184]

Thanks CosmicP! Imperial is a very good team. All 4 participated but particularly proud of my countryman Lee!!

[@Meemansa-mi2sy]

the weeknd's alter ego STARMAN😭😭😭

[@sharanyaray2454]

A very strong performance from the winning team. They have a strong player but that doesn't overshadow the equally talented other 3 team members. Loved to see a Bengali player from Kolkata since I am from the same place. And I have seen Justin from Imperial doing a lot of quizzes through social media so his performance wasn't a surprise. The losing team didn't have much to do as their opponents were too much for them. I have never said this but Imperial are final-worthy team. I started watching UC after Zeng from Imperial got viral and I am glad I got into it. Also the Imperial team could have been a full non-British team if the Captain wasn't from Manchester.

[@dondesmond7969]

Despite winning so well Imperial must fell slightly disappointed at not cracking 300. But they have the potential to go all the way.

[@marty9011]

The winners are going to go far. Thank you Cosmic Pumpkin.

[@dendroleon]

well done both teams but especially the one! thanks for sharing these episodes, as always

[@frederiquehobson4221]

Thanks so much for the share Cosmic Pumpkin! Impressive, Entertaining episode. And moreover both teams share an excellent " Intellect fighting spirits " . Thank you from France, Cosmic Pumpkin, this enlighten my early Tuesday morning, as always !

[@michaeln9931]

Ahhh.... too bad! I really enjoyed watching the losers. Great game overall though. Two really fun teams.

[@josephkarl2061]

If Imperial keep up their form in the rest of the series, they really need to play the March 😂

[@mlml984]

Imperial is a real powerhouse in UC.

[@nickychimes4719]

It's going to be hard to beat Imperial...

[@parap7697]

Thank you for the question on Nagorno-Karabakh. Sadly it was only in September that it was ethnically cleansed of its indigenous Armenian population after months of a cruel blockade that lead to a humanitarian disaster and a war of aggression that left people rightfully too scared to remain under Azerbaijani rule. The 44-day war of 2020 is still a trauma for many Armenians. This conflict could’ve been resolved in so many other ways had it been the will of the international community. Greetings from Armenia.

[@enlisty]

I feel bad for the losing team, whom I find very likeable. Bad luck to have been matched against the winning team, who is strong but seems oddly lacking in camaraderie.

[@itissrinivasan]

Lee giving Max Zheng vibes.

[@obiigwe8349]

When Imperial enters a team, they usually go on to win. They took a break last year, but it looks like normal service will now be restored.

[@Andy2kk]

Imperial is the team to beat

[@jessicaellina3878]

Exciting match! Two very likeable teams who worked well together. Bad luck, Balliol..congrats to lmperial , very impressive knowledge. Love how Amol chats to the teams at the end, he,s doing a great job as new quizmaster.

[@grimftl]

Thanks again CosmicPumpkin. I'm slowly catching up - only 10 months behind! Good round - managed to get a few no-answers and correct a wrong answer. Maybe I'm being pedantic, but as an American I was a bit put out that "Head of" was an acceptable answer for "Chief Justice".

[@nickychimes4719]

Imperial look bloody strong

[@PetroicaRodinogaster264]

I always thought that the U in URL was for Universal…you learn something new everyday and you are never too old to do it

[@grimupnorth]

I hardly knew a thing being asked, but I really enjoyed seeing the depth of knowledge on show in this episode. Surely the winners were on view tonight?

[@thadrin]

The losers are this year's "what might have been had they not been drawn against an absolute juggernaut." Shame to lose a team better than some who've progressed, but what an amazing team performance from the winners.

[@slobodanreka1088]

9:59 I love how the new Paxo 'corrects' him to "Agordo-Karabakh".

[@dilatasialkena]

Imperial go go goo!!

[@theresnothingness]

Maier from Balliol looks like Cilian Murphy lol

[@nerfeecasilao1236]

Lee and Haddad has some chemistry ❤️

[@jeff__w]

22:46 Surya Haddad 💘Justin Lee. (Given his answers, who can blame her?)

[@quinnculver]

Everyone on Imperial is strong, but Lee is a BEAST.

[@MrPotsy81]

Lee!

[@johnyarbrough502]

Before the competition starts, the Empire seems to be well represented at Imperial.

[@joshabrillo4237]

Rooting for Imperial!

[@kurttaube5527]

Rajan keeps the game moving much better than Paxman did. Paxman would allow extended debate on bonuses, which wasted a lot of time. So far at least 20 tossups - er, starters - have been read in every game this season. I don't have stats from previous years, but I would be very surprised if they approached that figure. My only concern is that Rajan seems to rush in the closing minutes of a tight game. The faster pace means that the score required for losing teams to advance to the second-chance play-in round will be higher than it has been. The qualifying score so far [with nine of 14 games in the books] is 155, which is already about 20 points higher than the typical qualifying score in previous years. The questions seem somewhat easier as well. IMO UC has found the sweet spot between rigor and accessibility. NBC's College Bowl questions are far too easy.

[@tomtucjr]

> My only concern is that Rajan seems to rush in the closing minutes of a tight game. Paxman did the exact same thing.

[@iansmith9125]

Oh the humanity!

[@aliceharuna4]

14:58 By PAXMAN words, ''If you buzz in you must answer straightaway. I'm gonna fine you five points''. I've been interested in how RAJAN would express that situation.

[@andrewclifton9772]

I thought Balliol might make it to the losers' bracket - against any other team they probably would have. But confusing Afrikaans with a Bantu-based language - twice - is almost unforgivable.

[@blipboop5594]

Maier is so cute omg

[@notananimenerd1333]

And when we needed him the most he wasn't there...

[@DragonsEyeTours]

Thanks

[@neilmartin4315]

Quiz starts 3:00

[@ilhan691]

Brandon, Zeng, Lee!!

[@Mutualfriend01]

Surely Lee should be the Imperial captain! He's a phenomenon!

[@sfumato8884]

He’s the strongest individual (next to Jones possibly) but Haddad seems to have a good head on her shoulders to rally the troops and fill the role. It’s the right fit.

[@Ramboost007]

There was an instance in Series 50, the 2020 season, where the captain *couldn't come back to the UK due to COVID restrictions coming into the second round. They then promoted their clear best player from the first round to captain, but it ended badly because he didn't manage his team well. He was quite dismissive of their answers when conferring and tried to play hero ball causing negs in starters. That's why you don't necessarily make your best player the captain, but rather the best personnel manager. Notice how after Haddad mishears an answer from her teammates, costing them a bonus, she immediately starts nominating people so it won't happen again.

[@gooscarguitar]

@@Ramboost007 are you talking about Corpus Christi, Oxford?

[@Ramboost007]

​@@gooscarguitarYeah that team

[@gooscarguitar]

@@Ramboost007 I think the captain was in a different country, wasn't that he had covid. I don't remember anyone else in the team even speaking during bonuses, it was very much a one-man team

[@JJsWonders]

Leeds, Leeds, Leeds - great book

[@ryanodonnell2726]

Potential season winner here.

[@glenntimmermans8277]

Balliol a much nicer team though.

[@glenntimmermans8277]

Amol quite chippy on the pronunciation of Laocoön but his own pronunciation of a number of words, not least Smuts and Xhosa, leave much to be desired.

[@Outwhere]

Yeah, "Hozza" was new to me too!.

[@michaelmccarthy9411]

Balliol are reading, Imperial are studying. Says it all!

[@campbell953]

emily dickinson wronged

[@redoxrecords6384]

Thanks for uploading. Having thus far watched this series, I am under the impression that the presenter does not really challenge the contestants. That is the name of the game and the school masterish sometimes smug 'I bet you're not going to get this one' delivery, is not in the spirit of University Challenge.

[@dfar5990]

Accepting "head of the US Supreme Court" over "Chief Justice" is ridiculous. It's not even close to the correct title. It would be like taking "person in charge of the executive branch" for "US President" or "person picked as leader of the party that won the election" for "Prime Minister." Describing a job is not the same as giving the correct title.

[@dionysusnu3881]

When the question asks for the position, not specifically the title, giving a clear description is fair, IMO.

[@Sara-kq8qb]

Yo chill

[@thundersleycleaningco.6621]

The use of B.C.E gets my goat

[@dwblurb]

Why?

[@BribieIsland-ep1cv]

@@dwblurb what’s wrong with B.C. as it’s always been?

[@megadethly]

FRIST

[@anthonyrice5037]

Inventing words now, are you.

[@lindorsibande]

​@@anthonyrice5037The translation says "Deadline" . I wonder from which language. Haha.

[@anthonyrice5037]

Possibly intoksh ikettedd. This is not meant as a slander but a bad attempt at humour.

[@martinmills135]

@@lindorsibandeFrist is German for deadline, term, or notice.

[@anthonyrice5037]

It would seem that the word 'frist' is Old English or Celtic and means ' the period allocated for payment', of what, I don't know'. Tythes, perhaps. Or the failure to provide 1 sheep or cow as a fine for a misdieanour for tresspassing on the King's land. Or looking at him in a funny way. Enough of this jesting.

[@importedmusic]

Plenty of black and climate change questions to get your teeth into Millenials, enjoy!

[@iconicon5642]

Oh so achingly woke. The Great Coral Reef celebrates its vigorous growth by cocking a snook at the general direction of the quiz setters.

[@gooscarguitar]

Coral bleaching is... woke?

[@davidnicholas2856]

Please can you define "cocking a snook"

[@dwblurb]

Don't be a dick, mate.

[@castelodeossos3947]

The Great Coral Reef's catastrophic demise, another lie promoted by Sir David Attenborough.

[@rogertayler8924]

He's a nice man isn't he? Pity the questions are so non academic. Poor Britannia. So cowed.

[@gooscarguitar]

Which ones? The classical music? Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood? European history? Yves Klein? Hermeneutics?

[@Messier45_Pleiades]

More woke casting.

[@ellentronicmistress4969]

You are free to go elsewhere for your entertainment.

[@Messier45_Pleiades]

​. I'm also free to comment. I'm sick of woke casting.

[@alexf2008]

Rajan really is disgusting isn't he

[@emmapeel829]

Why are you even here????

[@philhayhoe1]

Is that you, racist boy?

[@blipblop5757]

A quiz whose teams are amalgamation of cultures all over the world. A quiz which at its essence celebrates intelligence and knowledge. And then we have you with IQ below 0. Your mere breathing is an unnecessary burden on this planet.

[@seanolaoire8476]

Imperial on 🔥

[@seanolaoire8476]

Thank you 🎃