University Challenge 2021–22

The 51st series of University Challenge began on 12 July 2021 on BBC Two.[1] The final aired on 4 April 2022 when Imperial College London and the University of Reading were declared the series winners and runners-up respectively.

In this series, the University of Dundee made its debut appearance in the BBC series.

Results[edit]

  • Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
  • Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated (as it was impossible for them to be in the highest scoring losers).
  • Teams with orange scores had to win one more match to return in the next round.
  • Teams with yellow scores indicate that two further matches had to be played and won (teams that lost their first quarter-final match).
  • A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

First round[edit]

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
King's College London 115 100 University of Glasgow 215 12 July 2021
University College London 135 140 St Hilda's College, Oxford 275 19 July 2021
London Business School 100 180 Hertford College, Oxford 280 26 July 2021
Emmanuel College, Cambridge 135 140 University of St Andrews 275 2 August 2021
Queen Mary University of London 115 90 Oxford Brookes University 205 9 August 2021
University of Strathclyde 110 175 University of Reading 285 16 August 2021
University of Durham 90 190 Trinity College, Cambridge 280 23 August 2021
University of Exeter 130 80 University of Manchester 210 30 August 2021
University of Edinburgh 270 80 Peterhouse, Cambridge 350 6 September 2021
St John's College, Cambridge 155 210 Imperial College London 365 13 September 2021
St Catharine's College, Cambridge 130 120 University College, Oxford 250 20 September 2021
University of Dundee 145 135 Royal Northern College of Music 280 27 September 2021
Wolfson College, Oxford 110 165 University of Bristol 275 4 October 2021
University of Birmingham 245 10 University of Sussex 255 11 October 2021

Highest scoring losers play-offs[edit]

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
University College London 170 175 St John's College, Cambridge 345 18 October 2021
Emmanuel College, Cambridge 180 115 Royal Northern College of Music 295 25 October 2021

Second round[edit]

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
St John's College, Cambridge 220 45 Queen Mary University of London 265 1 November 2021
Emmanuel College, Cambridge 125 120 St Catharine's College, Cambridge 245 8 November 2021
University of Edinburgh 185 175 University of Bristol 360 15 November 2021
St Hilda's College, Oxford 45 235 Trinity College, Cambridge 280 22 November 2021
University of Reading 245 50 University of Dundee 295 29 November 2021
King's College London 165 115 Hertford College, Oxford 280 6 December 2021
University of Birmingham 225 50 University of St Andrews 275 13 December 2021
University of Exeter 70 205 Imperial College London 275 3 January 2022

Quarterfinals[edit]

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
University of Reading 170 135 University of Birmingham 305 10 January 2022
King's College London 50 235 Imperial College London 285 17 January 2022
St John's College, Cambridge 140 155 Emmanuel College, Cambridge 295 24 January 2022
University of Edinburgh 230 95 Trinity College, Cambridge 325 31 January 2022
University of Birmingham 115 140 King's College London 255 7 February 2022
University of Reading 120 225 Imperial College London 345 14 February 2022
Emmanuel College, Cambridge 145 150 University of Edinburgh 295 21 February 2022
St John's College, Cambridge 155 125 Trinity College, Cambridge 280 28 February 2022
King's College London 80 85 Emmanuel College, Cambridge 165 7 March 2022
University of Reading 145 70 St John's College, Cambridge 215 14 March 2022

Semifinals[edit]

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
Imperial College London 170 65 Emmanuel College, Cambridge 235 21 March 2022
University of Edinburgh 115 145 University of Reading 260 28 March 2022

Final[edit]

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
Imperial College London 125 115 University of Reading 240 4 April 2022

In what was the most closely fought final since 2006 (when the University of Manchester beat Trinity Hall, Cambridge also by ten points), Imperial had leads of 90 to 25 and 105 to 45 before Reading fought back to take a narrow 120 to 105 lead. Max Zeng (Imperial) then narrowly beat the Reading captain Michael Hutchinson to a starter on the Brecon Beacons, after which Imperial took two bonuses and a five-point lead in the process. A five-point penalty for Reading was the final change in the scoreline before the gong.

  • The trophy and title were thus awarded to the Imperial team of Max Zeng, Fatima Sheriff, Michael Mays, and Gilbert Jackson.
  • The trophy was presented by Russian-born Dutch-British physicist Andre Geim.

Spin-off: Christmas Special 2021[edit]

First round[edit]

Each year, a Christmas special sequence is aired featuring distinguished alumni. Out of 7 first-round winners, the top 4 highest-scoring teams progress to the semi-finals. The teams consist of celebrities who represent their alma maters.

  • Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
  • Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.
  • Teams with grey scores won their match but did not achieve a high enough score to proceed to the next round.
  • A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.
Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
University of Edinburgh 160 125 University of Leicester 285 20 December 2021
University of Winchester 95 130 University of Bradford 225 21 December 2021
University of Bristol 95 125 King's College, Cambridge 220 22 December 2021
London School of Economics 75 130 Hertford College, Oxford 205 23 December 2021
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge 130 145 St Anne's College, Oxford 275 24 December 2021
Birkbeck, University of London 125 30 University of Portsmouth 155 27 December 2021
University of Kent 115 95 Goldsmiths, University of London 210 28 December 2021

Standings for the winners[edit]

Rank Team Team captain Score
1 University of Edinburgh Miles Jupp 160
2 St Anne's College, Oxford John Robins 145
3= University of Bradford Martin Roberts 130
Hertford College, Oxford Adam Fleming
5= King's College, Cambridge Shahidha Bari 125
Birkbeck, University of London Jolyon Maugham
7 University of Kent Peter White 115

Semi-finals[edit]

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
University of Edinburgh 145 125 University of Bradford 270 29 December 2021
Hertford College, Oxford 155 95 St Anne's College, Oxford 250 30 December 2021

Final[edit]

Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date
University of Edinburgh 235 95 Hertford College, Oxford 330 31 December 2021

The winning University of Edinburgh team consisted of Catherine Slessor, Thomasina Miers, Miles Jupp and Phil Swanson. The second placed Hertford College team consisted of Soweto Kinch, Elizabeth Norton, Adam Fleming and Isabelle Westbury.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "BBC Two - University Challenge, 2021/22, Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 30 June 2021.

External links[edit]


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