University Challenge 2024–25
The 54th series of University Challenge began on 12 August 2024 on BBC Two, and ended with the final on 12 May 2025, when Christ's College, Cambridge beat the University of Warwick for their inaugural championship, while also being the first Oxbridge winners in seven years.[1][2]
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.
- 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]Highest scoring losers play-offs
[edit]| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University College London | 215 | 105 | University of St Andrews | 320 | 18 November 2024 |
| Durham University | 150 | 145 | SOAS University of London | 295 | 25 November 2024 |
Second round
[edit]| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University College London | 255 | 55 | London School of Economics | 310 | 2 December 2024 |
| Durham University | 115 | 180 | Open University | 295 | 9 December 2024 |
| University of Exeter | 35 | 290 | University of Bristol | 325 | 16 December 2024 |
| Darwin College, Cambridge | 155 | 125 | University of Edinburgh | 280 | 6 January 2025 |
| Wadham College, Oxford | 25 | 345 | Imperial College London | 370 | 13 January 2025 |
| Christ's College, Cambridge | 215 | 100 | St Edmund Hall, Oxford | 315 | 20 January 2025 |
| Cardiff University | 70 | 180 | Queen's University Belfast | 250 | 27 January 2025 |
| University of Warwick | 215 | 110 | Oriel College, Oxford | 325 | 3 February 2025 |
Quarter-finals
[edit]| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial College London | 160 | 180 | Christ's College, Cambridge | 340 | 10 February 2025 |
| Queen's University Belfast | 95 | 215 | University of Warwick | 310 | 17 February 2025 |
| University College London | 120 | 225 | Darwin College, Cambridge | 345 | 24 February 2025 |
| Open University | 95 | 135 | University of Bristol | 230 | 3 March 2025 |
| Christ's College, Cambridge | 205 | 155 | University of Warwick | 360 | 10 March 2025 |
| Imperial College London | 170 | 180 | Queen's University Belfast | 350 | 17 March 2025 |
| Darwin College, Cambridge | 160 | 150 | University of Bristol | 310 | 24 March 2025 |
| University College London | 235 | 105 | Open University | 340 | 31 March 2025 |
| University of Warwick | 220 | 125 | University College London | 345 | 7 April 2025 |
| Queen's University Belfast | 65 | 200 | University of Bristol | 265 | 14 April 2025 |
Semi-finals
[edit]| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christ's College, Cambridge | 220 | 50 | University of Bristol | 270 | 21 April 2025 |
| Darwin College, Cambridge | 160 | 180 | University of Warwick | 340 | 28 April 2025 |
Final
[edit]| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christ's College, Cambridge | 175 | 170 | University of Warwick | 345 | 12 May 2025 |
In what was the most closely contested final seen in the revival era of University Challenge, Warwick led for almost the entire match, having held sizable scoring margins of 125 to 40, and 175 to 115; the latter being held with less than five minutes to go.
Christ's, however, clawed their way back, and ultimately tied level on the final starter-for-ten, after Anniko Firman identified Agamemnon as the Greek ruler whose translated line in Book 11 of Homer's Odyssey was used to create the title of the 1930 William Faulkner novel As I Lay Dying. They then correctly answered one of the resulting bonuses before the gong, to complete their comeback victory and end the series unbeaten.
- The trophy and title were thus awarded to the Christ's College, Cambridge team of Anniko Firman, Brendan Bethlehem, Oscar Despard and Linus Luu, leaving the Warwick team which consisted of Ananya Govindarajan, Thomas Hart, Oscar Siddle and Benjamin Watson as the runners-up.
- The trophy was presented by Sir Ian McKellen in a separate ceremony at the ADC Theatre in Cambridge.
Spin-off: Christmas Special 2024
[edit]A spin-off Christmas series has been aired since 2011, featuring distinguished alumni.
First round
[edit]Out of seven first-round winners, only the top four highest-scoring teams progress to the semi-finals.
- 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 Warwick | 35 | 265 | Durham University | 300 | 23 December 2024 |
| Worcester College, Oxford | 155 | 105 | University of Bristol | 260 | 24 December 2024 |
| Manchester Metropolitan University | 110 | 135 | University of Brighton | 245 | 26 December 2024 |
| Leeds Trinity University | 100 | 115 | University of Nottingham | 215 | 27 December 2024 |
| University of Southampton | 125 | 150 | Churchill College, Cambridge | 275 | 29 December 2024 |
| Emmanuel College, Cambridge | 95 | 175 | Queens' College, Cambridge | 270 | 30 December 2024 |
| University of St Andrews | 130 | 65 | London School of Economics | 195 | 31 December 2024 |
Semi-finals
[edit]| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham University | 120 | 85 | Worcester College, Oxford | 205 | 1 January 2025 |
| Churchill College, Cambridge | 95 | 105 | Queens' College, Cambridge | 200 | 2 January 2025 |
Final
[edit]| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham University | 125 | 120 | Queens' College, Cambridge | 245 | 3 January 2025 |
Having taken the lead on the final starter question, the winning Durham University team consisted of Liz James, Tracey MacLeod, Carla Denyer, and Sophia Smith Galer, who beat Queens' College, Cambridge and their team of John Zarnecki, Stephanie Merritt, Jenny Kleeman and Richard K. Morgan.
References
[edit]- ^ "University Challenge returns on BBC Two and iPlayer this August with Amol Rajan back at the helm". BBC. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ Connor, Dyane (12 May 2025). "Dublin scholar leads team to victory in University Challenge final". RTE. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
External links
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