Rocky start for Imperial team in first University Challenge round

Imperial College’s University Challenge team got off to a rocky start after they lost their first match against Churchill College, Cambridge by only 15 points. Despite losing 175-160, the team still qualify for the second round due to being amongst the four highest-scoring losing teams.

In a match described by host Amol Rajan as “fantastically entertaining”, Imperial initially took the lead, but a strong performance by Churchill College in the last rounds led to them overtaking Imperial’s “very, very strong” team.

This year’s team consists of Ecology and Evolution PhD candidate Rahim Dina, Chemistry student Eugenia Tong, Computing student Justin Keung, and team captain Oscar O’Flanagan, who is pursuing a PhD in Atmospheric Physics.

In a statement to Felix, O’Flanagan said: “It was quite scary seeing our score trailing at the end and being faced with elimination in the first round. After that experience we won’t be taking anything for granted, it’s only thanks to Korean cuisine that we’re still in the competition!”

Imperial College have won University Challenge a record five times, most recently in 2024. Last year, following an impressive performance, the team was knocked out in the semi-final round. Churchill College, which was established in 1958 in order to train the next generation of British scientists, last appeared on the show in 2006. They have won the quiz show once, in 1971.