Finals Night on 24 April brought the main 2011-12 QLL season to a fitting close. As with last season, there were four competition finals, and the evening moved along at a cracking pace. League chair Andrew Frazer opened proceedings with a short welcome, and then it was straight down to business. And, demonstrating QLL's ongoing attempt to keep up with technology and reduce its carbon footprint, for the first time in the league's history the quizzes were read from an electronic device instead of paper.
First up was the final of Brain of London 2 – William Barrett, Larry Whitehurst, Quentin Holt and Gareth Kingston. Larry took the first round by a single point and was still in the lead after round two. However in round three (to use the vernacular) he didn't trouble the scorer, whereas a magnificent full house and three bonus points took Quentin into a four-point lead. Fortunes were reversed in round four as Larry got a full house and Quentin managed just one of his own questions. Larry again got all his own questions right in the final round, at the end of which he and Quentin were tied on 15 points. And so to the tie-breaker. Larry didn't manage to answer any of the three questions, but Quentin's knowledge of Fanny Craddock's real first name won him the title.
Final scores:
William Barrett 13,
Larry Whitehurst 15,
Quentin Holt 15+,
Gareth Kingston 11.
Full results of the heats are available
here.
Set by:
QLL Committee
With huge giant-killing prospects, London Scottish (the league's bottom team) squared up to Gray Monks (Division 2 champions), and the starting scores meant that London Scottish went into the match 35-9 in the lead. This one had all the markings of a thriller, and it didn't disappoint! Monks took the first round 8-2, and it looked like the inevitable was on the cards. However, Scottish were having none of it and went on to win the next three rounds which put them 25 points clear at the end of the first half. Their slightly shell-shocked opponents regrouped and won all four second-half rounds but, regrettably for the Monks, it was too little too late.
Final score was 56-68, with the captains top-scoring for both sides.
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.
Next was the Brain of London 1 final - Mark Grant, Robert Willer, David Stainer and Olav Bjortomt. David took the first round by a single point, and after round two his lead was shared with Mark and Robert. Mark took round three to move into the lead and, by the end of round four, was three points clear of Robert. Uncharacteristically, Robert failed to score in the final round, and Mark held his nerve to win an impressive victory against such formidable opposition. It was testament to the toughness of Nic Paul's quiz that there was not a single full house from any of the four players in any of the five rounds.
Final scores:
Mark Grant 17,
Robert Willer 11,
David Stainer 14,
Olav Bjortomt 8.
Full results of the heats are available
here.
Set by:
Nic Paul
And so to the final final which saw the promoted Mealy Bugs take on Telstars, who went into the match with an eight point lead. However, this was of supreme indifference to Hugh Brady's men who proceeded to win the first five rounds and, going into round 6, had overturned the starting score to lie two points in front. Round 6 was a draw and the Bugs took round 7 by one point so, going into round 8 there was, as the reader stated, "quite literally everything to play for". It was at this point, however, that Mealy Bugs sounded degüello and took the final round 9-1, bringing a thrilling match to conclusion. Despite a creditable performance from Telstars, Mealy Bugs were simply too good on the night, and will surely be a force to be reckoned with in the top flight next season.
Final score was 65-54, with Hugh Brady and Josh Mandel top-scoring for their respective teams.
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 evening concluded with the customary presentations. Allsorts, Gray Monks and Amoebas received their respective divisional trophies, Kevin Ashman retained the Ashman Trophy and Craig Bilner won this year's Young Player Award. The Supporter's Plate was won by Phil, landlord of The Crown and new venue The Hope, for his fantastic support of the league. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to attend on the night (he does have more than one pub to run!) and will be presented with his award at the Summer Social in July.
More pictures from the evening are available
here.
That rounds off the 2011-12 season's action, though the
National Quiz Festival comes round on 9 June, and the
Summer Friendly League begins sooner than you think - have you signed up?