Monkman misfires as Oxford rivals win University Challenge
THE nation was willing him to win, but Eric Monkman’s University Challenge dream ended in noble failure – and a dressing-down from Jeremy Paxman for a “completely useless” answer.
Wolfson College, Monkman’s Cambridge team, lost a nail-biting grand final to Balliol College, Oxford by 140 points to 190.
Displaying the fierce intellect – and fierce delivery – that has earned him a devoted social media following, the Canadian economics student was responsible for almost all of his team’s score.
But he also lost points at crucial moments. When Paxman began a question about the Iron Crown of Lombardy, Monkman interrupted too swiftly. “It’s housed in Italy… somewhere… sorry,” he said sheepishly.
“Yes, I’m afraid that is a completely useless answer,” replied Paxman. “And you lose five points.” Balliol then heard the question in full, and correctly identified Monza as the site of the cathedral housing the holy relic.
That slip-up opened the way for Bal- liol to take the lead. And while Wolfson briefly regained the upper hand, victory was denied them.
Monkman made other errors not knowing that “dog” precedes fennel, violet and rose to indicate that they are considered inferior specimens, but he did get many questions correct, with a breadth of knowledge that covered opera, Whig politicians, Harper Lee and 17th century Swedish monarchs.
Despite his earlier dig, Paxman praised Monkman and his team-mates at the end of the programme. “Wolfson, bad luck. You’ve been one of the more entertaining teams in this year’s contest,” he said.
The Balliol team – Freddy Potts, Jacob Lloyd, Joey Goldman and Ben Pope – were presented with their trophy by Prof Stephen Hawking, who told them: “I have said in the past that it is not clear whether intelligence has any long -term survival value. Bacteria manage to flourish without it. But it is one of the most admirable qualities, especially when displayed by such young minds.”
Monkman, 29, became an unlikely star after Twitter users noted his lack of an “inside voice” and his permanently furrowed brow, and women began professing their love for him.
For the final, he wore the same sweater and shirt he has sported in all of the heats. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph last week he explained: “I wore the same outfit for every recording because it was one fewer thing to think about. I try to keep all my mental capacity [for the questions].”
He described his sudden heart-throb status as “a bit strange”.