University Challenge results, 1999
The 1998-9 series started on the 2nd September 1998 and ended with the final on 27th April 1999. The difference this year is that there are 28 teams in the first round. The second round consists of the 14 winners plus two others. The four highest scoring losers play each other in two games, the winner of each taking the final two places in the second round.
The series was broadcast on BBC2 at 20:00 with the first seven shows on Wednesdays and the remainder on Tuesdays.
| First round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02/09/1998 | Bristol | 245 | 185 | Manchester |
| 09/09/1998 | Balliol, Oxford | 195 | 200 | Durham |
| 16/09/1998 | Open | 350 | 145 | Lancaster |
| 23/09/1998 | Harris Manchester, Oxford | 185 | 200 | Selwyn, Cambridge |
| 30/09/1998 | Birkbeck, London | 300 | 110 | Warwick |
| 07/10/1998 | Portsmouth | 135 | 230 | De Montfort |
| 14/10/1998 | King's Coll Med&Dent, London | 130 | 170 | Magdalen, Oxford |
| 20/10/1998 | Aberdeen | 255 | 145 | Newnham, Cambridge |
| 27/10/1998 | Christ Church, Oxford | 150 | 245 | Trinity, Cambridge |
| 03/11/1998 | St Hilda's, Oxford | 115 | 215 | Bangor |
| 10/11/1998 | Corpus Christi, Cambridge | 145 | 280 | Oriel, Oxford |
| 17/11/1998 | Queen's, Belfast | 100 | 230 | Sheffield |
| 01/12/1998 | Downing, Cambridge | 160 | 235 | Glasgow |
| 08/12/1998 | City | 200 | 210 | Leicester |
| Highest-scoring losers | ||||
| 15/12/1998 | Harris Manchester, Oxford | 185 | 200 | Manchester |
| 05/01/1999 | City | 210 | 300 | Balliol, Oxford |
| Second round | ||||
| 12/01/1999 | Open | 210 | 200 | Magdalen, Oxford |
| 19/01/1999 | Aberdeen | 75 | 275 | Bangor |
| 26/01/1999 | De Montfort | 135 | 255 | Bristol |
| 09/02/1999 | Selwyn, Cambridge | 145 | 325 | Leicester |
| 16/02/1999 | Oriel, Oxford | 290 | 170 | Manchester |
| 24/02/1999 | Glasgow | 140 | 355 | Durham |
| 03/03/1999 | Balliol, Oxford | 205 | 270 | Birkbeck, London |
| 10/03/1999 | Sheffield | 190 | 255 | Trinity, Cambridge |
| Quarter-finals | ||||
| 17/03/1999 | Bangor | 240 | 170 | Bristol |
| 24/03/1999 | Oriel, Oxford | 335 | 160 | Leicester |
| 31/03/1999 | Open | 240 | 235 | Birkbeck, London |
| 06/04/1999 | Durham | 325 | 175 | Trinity, Cambridge |
| Semi-finals | ||||
| 13/04/1999 | Bangor | 130 | 235 | Oriel, Oxford |
| 20/04/1999 | Open | 310 | 120 | Durham |
| Final | ||||
| 27/04/1999 | Oriel, Oxford | 210 | 265 | Open |
| Special shows | ||||
| 21/12/1998 | Leicester, 1963 | 145 | 220 | Magdalen, Oxford, 1998 |
| 01/01/1999 | Tabloids | 210 | 165 | Broadsheets |
The winning team were Lance Haward (who famously only took the Open University degree so that he could appear on University Challenge), David Good, John Burke, and Sue Mitchell, reading Classical Greek, Computing, Humanities, and Literature respectively.
The participants in the special celebrity show were: Jane Moore (The Sun), Peter Hitchens (The Express), Ann Leslie (Daily Mail) and Tony Parsons (The Mirror) for the Tabloids, and Decca Atikenhead (The Guardian), Libby Purves (The Times), Boris Johnson (Daily Telegraph) and Richard Ingrams (The Observer) for the Broadsheets.
Winners are given in bold, and the four highest scoring firstround losers in italics.
Durham (Durham University)
Portsmouth (contestant page)
City (City University)
Durham (Durham University)
Oxford hit by late starters for six (Open v Oriel) (The Guardian)
Open minds thrash Oxford's brightest (Open v Oriel) (The Guardian)
Youth wins the day in University Challenge (Magdalen v Leicester 63) (BBC)
Paxman slams 'quiz professionals' (BBC)
Paxman challenges his 'quiz professionals' (Daily Telegraph)
Quiz team was 'much too smart' for Paxman (Daily Telegraph)
Starter for 10... who trounced Boris Johnson on University Challenge? (Daily Mail>