University Challenge: Imperial demolishes Wadham College
Second round bout ended with Imperial scoring highest number of points so far this season.
Imperial's University Challenge team has beaten Wadham College, Oxford, in the second round, qualifying for a place in the quarter finals. Scoring 345 points—the highest by any team this season—to Wadham's 25, the team were described by host Amol Rajan as "absolutely phenomenal" and "ludicrous".
"That is a big score and it's going to scare the [sic] other people," Rajan told the team at the end of the quiz, broadcast on Monday 13th January.
After Wadham took a quick lead in the first round, Imperial began to dominate, reaching 45 points to Wadham's five. Wadham failed to reclaim the lead in the early game after some wrong answers lost them points, whilst the Imperial team maintained a steady momentum, quickly reaching 100 points. By midway, Imperial was on 170 points whilst Wadham had dropped to zero points. The team, comprised of captain Spry, Stokes, Salamanca Camacho, and Elkbouby, answering questions ranging from popular manga series to the works of jazz musician Terence Blanchard. Of particular note was Jaime Salamanca Camacho, who answered many of the more difficult questions with ease. Similarly, Charlotte Stokes performed well, impressing Rajan with the swiftness of her answer (Thomas Hardy) to the question of the creator of the word "cliffhanger", first introduced into the Oxford English Dictionary in 1931.
Salamanca Camacho described his experience in the second round. He felt he was the most comfortable in this match, despite the nerves. Despite his cool demeanour, Salamanca Camacho has a fear of missing his chance, often trying to compute the various answers that could be the solution. Overall, his performance was one he felt he could be very proud of.
Following victories in 1996, 2001, 2020, 2022, and 2024, Imperial has won the popular quiz show a record five times. Part of Imperial's success has been due to its selection process of competitors, and the Imperial Dynasty: former members of the Imperial team offer mentorship and support to current competitors.
A separate University Challenge committee organises quizzes open to all students for a chance to join the team. Whilst the team is often made up of students familiar with the quiz circuit, no experience is required—Salamanca Camacho joined without any prior quizzing experience.
Mohammad Majlisi
