Series 49 of University Challenge began on 15 July 2019 on BBC Two.

The University of Huddersfield made its University Challenge debut in this series, while the Oxford colleges Wolfson and Lady Margaret Hall made their first appearances in the BBC series.

Results Winning teams are highlighted in bold. Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated. Teams with orange scores had to win one more match to return in the next round. Teams with yellow scores indicate that two further matches had to be played and won (teams that lost their first quarter-final match). A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

First round Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Lancaster University230 University of Glasgow 325 15 July 2019 Corpus Christi College, Cambridge195 Merton College, Oxford 335 22 July 2019 Magdalen College, Oxford170150 University of York 320 29 July 2019 University of Birmingham125 University of Bristol 245 5 August 2019 Wolfson College, Cambridge115 St John's College, Oxford 155 12 August 2019 University of Edinburgh165 Birkbeck, University of London 255 19 August 2019 Jesus College, Oxford145185 University of Manchester 330 2 September 2019 Durham University145200 Trinity College, Cambridge 345 9 September 2019 London School of Economics145 The Courtauld Institute of Art 235 16 September 2019 Goldsmiths, University of London175 University of Southampton 270 23 September 2019 The Open University145 University of Huddersfield 270 7 October 2019 Wolfson College, Oxford180170 University of Sheffield 350 14 October 2019 Imperial College London255 Brasenose College, Oxford 325 21 October 2019 Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford150 Downing College, Cambridge 295 28 October 2019

Three teams finished tied for the last two places in the play-offs on 145 each; Durham and Jesus College Oxford went through due to having heard fewer questions to reach their scores.

Highest scoring losers play-offs Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Sheffield170 Jesus College, Oxford 335 4 November 2019 University of York240 Durham University 385 11 November 2019

Second round Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Birmingham150 Jesus College, Oxford 270 18 November 2019 University of Southampton245 Durham University 340 25 November 2019 The Courtauld Institute of Art180 University of Glasgow 325 2 December 2019 Imperial College London255 St John's College, Oxford 360 9 December 2019 University of Huddersfield205 University of Manchester 295 16 December 2019 Trinity College, Cambridge245 Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford 345 6 January 2020 Wolfson College, Oxford220 University of Edinburgh 320 13 January 2020 Magdalen College, Oxford270 Corpus Christi College, Cambridge 345 20 January 2020

Quarterfinals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Manchester95300 Trinity College, Cambridge 395 27 January 2020 Wolfson College, Oxford140180 Corpus Christi College, Cambridge 320 3 February 2020 Jesus College, Oxford110195 Durham University 305 10 February 2020 The Courtauld Institute of Art75240 Imperial College London 315 17 February 2020 Trinity College, Cambridge80245 Corpus Christi College, Cambridge 325 24 February 2020 University of Manchester130 Wolfson College, Oxford 255 2 March 2020 Durham University115185 Imperial College London 300 9 March 2020 Jesus College, Oxford135 The Courtauld Institute of Art 225 16 March 2020 Wolfson College, Oxford205 Durham University 250 23 March 2020 Trinity College, Cambridge285 Jesus College, Oxford 360 30 March 2020

Semifinals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Corpus Christi College, Cambridge185 Durham University 315 6 April 2020 Imperial College London235 Trinity College, Cambridge 315 13 April 2020

Final Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Corpus Christi College, Cambridge275 Imperial College London 380 20 April 2020

The trophy and title were awarded to the Imperial team of Richard Brooks, Brandon Blackwell, Caleb Rich, and Conor McMeel. The trophy was presented by Andrew Wiles, on location at the Oxford University Mathematics Institute.

Spin-off: Christmas Special 2019

First round Each year, a Christmas special sequence is aired featuring distinguished alumni. Out of 7 first-round winners, the top 4 highest-scoring teams progress to the semi-finals. The teams consist of celebrities who represent their alma maters. Winning teams are highlighted in bold. Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated. Teams with grey scores won their match but did not achieve a high enough score to proceed to the next round. A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

Team 1Team 2TotalBroadcast date University of Leeds205 Clare College, Cambridge 260 23 December 2019 Birmingham City University160 Wadham College, Oxford 235 24 December 2019 Guildhall School of Music and Drama165 University College London 285 25 December 2019 University of Liverpool University of Hull 225 26 December 2019 Royal Holloway, University of London University of Sussex 200 27 December 2019 Trinity Hall, Cambridge180 St Peter's College, Oxford 265 30 December 2019 University of Warwick Imperial College London 195 31 December 2019

Standings for the winners RankTeamTeam captainScore1University of LeedsRichard Coles2052Trinity Hall, CambridgeLucy Mangan1853University College LondonMaryam Moshiri1654Wadham College, OxfordAnne McElvoy1605University of HullLucy Beaumont1506University of SussexKim Newman1307Imperial College LondonBrendan Walker115

Semi-finals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Trinity Hall, Cambridge215 Wadham College, Oxford 240 1 January 2020 University of Leeds205 University College London 250 2 January 2020

Final Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Wadham College, Oxford235 University of Leeds 365 3 January 2020

The winning University of Leeds team of Jonathan Clements, Henry Gee, Richard Coles and Timothy Allen beat the Wadham College, Oxford team of Jonathan Freedland, Tom Solomon, Anne McElvoy and Roger Mosey.

References

External links University Challenge homepage Blanchflower Results Table