The 51st series of University Challenge began on 12 July 2021 on BBC Two. The final aired on 4 April 2022 when Imperial College London and the University of Reading were declared the series winners and runners-up respectively.

In this series, the University of Dundee made its debut appearance 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 (as it was impossible for them to be in the highest scoring losers). 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 King's College London115 University of Glasgow 215 12 July 2021 University College London135140 St Hilda's College, Oxford 275 19 July 2021 London Business School180 Hertford College, Oxford 280 26 July 2021 Emmanuel College, Cambridge135140 University of St Andrews 275 2 August 2021 Queen Mary University of London115 Oxford Brookes University 205 9 August 2021 University of Strathclyde175 University of Reading 285 16 August 2021 University of Durham190 Trinity College, Cambridge 280 23 August 2021 University of Exeter130 University of Manchester 210 30 August 2021 University of Edinburgh270 Peterhouse, Cambridge 350 6 September 2021 St John's College, Cambridge155210 Imperial College London 365 13 September 2021 St Catharine's College, Cambridge130 University College, Oxford 250 20 September 2021 University of Dundee145135 Royal Northern College of Music 280 27 September 2021 Wolfson College, Oxford165 University of Bristol 275 4 October 2021 University of Birmingham245 University of Sussex 255 11 October 2021

Highest scoring losers play-offs Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University College London175 St John's College, Cambridge 345 18 October 2021 Emmanuel College, Cambridge180 Royal Northern College of Music 295 25 October 2021

Second round Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date St John's College, Cambridge220 Queen Mary University of London 265 1 November 2021 Emmanuel College, Cambridge125 St Catharine's College, Cambridge 245 8 November 2021 University of Edinburgh185 University of Bristol 360 15 November 2021 St Hilda's College, Oxford235 Trinity College, Cambridge 280 22 November 2021 University of Reading245 University of Dundee 295 29 November 2021 King's College London165 Hertford College, Oxford 280 6 December 2021 University of Birmingham225 University of St Andrews 275 13 December 2021 University of Exeter205 Imperial College London 275 3 January 2022

Quarterfinals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Reading170135 University of Birmingham 305 10 January 2022 King's College London50235 Imperial College London 285 17 January 2022 St John's College, Cambridge140155 Emmanuel College, Cambridge 295 24 January 2022 University of Edinburgh23095 Trinity College, Cambridge 325 31 January 2022 University of Birmingham140 King's College London 255 7 February 2022 University of Reading120225 Imperial College London 345 14 February 2022 Emmanuel College, Cambridge145150 University of Edinburgh 295 21 February 2022 St John's College, Cambridge155 Trinity College, Cambridge 280 28 February 2022 King's College London85 Emmanuel College, Cambridge 165 7 March 2022 University of Reading145 St John's College, Cambridge 215 14 March 2022

Semifinals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Imperial College London170 Emmanuel College, Cambridge 235 21 March 2022 University of Edinburgh145 University of Reading 260 28 March 2022

Final Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Imperial College London125 University of Reading 240 4 April 2022

In what was the most closely fought final since 2006 (when the University of Manchester beat Trinity Hall, Cambridge also by ten points), Imperial had leads of 90 to 25 and 105 to 45 before Reading fought back to take a narrow 120 to 105 lead. Max Zeng (Imperial) then narrowly beat the Reading captain Michael Hutchinson to a starter on the Brecon Beacons, after which Imperial took two bonuses and a five-point lead in the process. A five-point penalty for Reading was the final change in the scoreline before the gong.

The trophy and title were thus awarded to the Imperial team of Max Zeng, Fatima Sheriff, Michael Mays, and Gilbert Jackson. The trophy was presented by Russian-born Dutch-British physicist Andre Geim.

Spin-off: Christmas Special 2021

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 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Edinburgh160 University of Leicester 285 20 December 2021 University of Winchester130 University of Bradford 225 21 December 2021 University of Bristol King's College, Cambridge 220 22 December 2021 London School of Economics130 Hertford College, Oxford 205 23 December 2021 Corpus Christi College, Cambridge145 St Anne's College, Oxford 275 24 December 2021 Birkbeck, University of London University of Portsmouth 155 27 December 2021 University of Kent Goldsmiths, University of London 210 28 December 2021

Standings for the winners RankTeamTeam captainScore1University of EdinburghMiles Jupp1602St Anne's College, OxfordJohn Robins145 3=University of BradfordMartin Roberts 130Hertford College, OxfordAdam Fleming 5=King's College, CambridgeShahidha Bari 125Birkbeck, University of LondonJolyon Maugham7University of KentPeter White115

Semi-finals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Edinburgh 145 University of Bradford 270 29 December 2021 Hertford College, Oxford155 St Anne's College, Oxford 250 30 December 2021

Final Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Edinburgh235 Hertford College, Oxford 330 31 December 2021

The winning University of Edinburgh team consisted of Catherine Slessor, Thomasina Miers, Miles Jupp and Phil Swanson. The second placed Hertford College team consisted of Soweto Kinch, Elizabeth Norton, Adam Fleming and Isabelle Westbury.

References

External links University Challenge homepage Blanchflower Results Table