The University of Exeter’s time in the esteemed University Challenge has come to an abrupt end after a damning defeat by The University of Bristol on Monday 16 December.
After a stressful 30 minutes for the Exeter team, the final score was a huge 290 to Brisol, and only 35 to Exeter. This week marked the third episode of the second round, meaning Bristol will be off to the quarter finals, whilst Exeter has become the 15th team to leave the competition.
After a stressful 30 minutes for the Exeter team, the final score was a huge 290 to Brisol, and only 35 to Exeter.
Exeter was beaten “by an absolutely outstanding team” (Amol Rajan), with Bristol’s Warner particuarly impressive on the buzzer.
One post on X commented that even though they “missed half the episode, still on more than Exeter,” alongside a photo of Exeter’s minus 10 scoreboard after 17 minutes of the episode.
The team, composed of captain, Martin Newman, alongside Elliot Mouelhi, Michael Moorecroft and Lucy Carr, had previously been fairly successful, beating the University of Reading in what Amol Rajan called a “comfortable victory” in their first round earlier this year.
In the end, Rajan appeared empathetic to the Exeter team, “this game, it’s all about momentum, and you guys really got going, it’s just that it took you about 20 minutes for you to get going!”
As this year’s hope’s of Exeter ever making it to the final comes to another crashing hault, a confirmed University of Exeter contestant for the 2025/6 series of University Challenge said: “It’s sad to see that last year’s team didn’t make it though, they were a strong team, but we’re excited for the opportunity to see if we can get any further!”
So, perhaps hope is not completely lost. For now though, Exeter students will likely be less invested in their Monday quiz nights.
