Finals Night on 26 April drew its largest ever attendance at the Counting House, and with four events to cram in, there was, as the Two Ronnies would say, a packed programme to get through.
First up was the final of Brain of London 2 – in the first year of the competition, it was somehow fitting that the final should pit two stalwarts of the league, Larry Whitehurst (Old Itonians) and Richard Jones (Nomads) against two relative newcomers in Mark Walton (Flutterers) and Ross Goodwin (Fit For Purpose?). Ross jumped out to an early lead in Round One, and appeared best suited to a quirky set from the league Chair, Secretary and Competitions Secretary. Richard's knowledge of breweries and Mark's of technology kept them ticking over, but they were never quite close enough to challenge Ross.
Final scores:
Mark Walton 10,
Larry Whitehurst 6,
Ross Goodwin 14,
Richard Jones 10.
Full results of the heats are available
here.
Set by:
QLL CommitteeThe BoL2 has proven a great success this year, and we look forward to running the competition again in 2012.
The Plate final saw the Hand and Shearers defending the title that they won in 2010 as a guest team, under the name of The Edge (though their captain, Jeremy Edge, was around to lead them this time). Their opponents this time round were the Pineapple (captained by the league's Young Player of the Year, Dom Tait). The holders enjoyed an 11-point starting score advantage, and their oppo were never able to make serious inroads, with the only hint of a wobble being a 5-1 score in Round 6. Final score was 64-56, with the captains top-scoring for both sides (Jeremy notched 18, and Dom 13).
bold = team went first (starting score in brackets)
Players listed in seat order (number of 2s in brackets), playing captains in bold.
Full competition results are available
here.
The Brain of London final brought Kevin Ashman (Allsorts), David Lea (Nomads), Olav Bjortomt (Broken Hearts) and William De Ath (Atletico) to the table. Kevin set out strongly in pursuit of his 11th title, drawing oohs and aahs by getting all three of his first-round questions right, but David then equalled that feat, and picked up a couple of bonuses to take the lead after one round. The second round proved tough, with only three questions answered correctly by their original recipient, but David managed to extend his advantage by one point. Four points for Kevin in round three pulled him level, with Olav straining to join the scrap and William struggling slightly with a set that didn't suit his strengths, but David replied with a full house in the fourth stanza to restore a two-point lead. A tense last round saw each player securing only one of their own questions, but David's knowledge of national newspaper editors and comedy game show hosts saw him through to the title in his first trip beyond the second qualifying round of the competition.
Final scores:
Kevin Ashman 14,
David Lea 17,
Olav Bjortomt 13,
William De Ath 9.
Full results of the heats are available
here.
Set by:
Jesse Honey
David was straight back in action in the final of the All-London Cup, as his Nomads team attempted to secure the double against Pericardium. David Stainer's squad had been unfortunate to lose all three league meetings between the two sides this season, and there was a feeling their luck had to change sooner or later. Besides, after losing in the last two cup finals, they were hoping to finally win their first trophy. Extending their five-point starting score lead to 12 by half time was a pretty good way to make sure that this would happen, though two eight-point rounds for the league champions (and some not altogether sporting quips from the reader) saw a few nerves creep in, and the gap narrowed to three points with a round to go. The tension was broken when David incorrectly answered his question and the Cardies picked up the bonus. A final score of 53-47 reflected a superior performance by the Pericardium team (Nic Paul, Kathryn Johnson, Quentin Holt and David Stainer) on the night.
bold = team went first (starting score in brackets)
Players listed in seat order (number of 2s in brackets), playing captains in bold.
Full competition results are available
here.
Presentations
The presentation of the trophies for the season followed, including the Supporters' Plate to Mark Walton for his efforts in leading the Flutterers amid more than a few slings and arrows in their first season. Robert Willer received a special award in recognition of his many years of service on the QLL committee, Dom Tait received the inaugural Young Player Award and Jesse Honey handed back the Ashman Trophy to this year's winner, the man for whom the trophy is named.
More pictures from the evening are available
here.
That rounds off the 2010-11 season's action, though the London Open Quiz Festival comes round on 11 June, and the summer friendly league begins sooner than you think - have you signed up?