The 52nd series of University Challenge began on 29 August 2022 on BBC Two. A special programme commemorating the show's 60th anniversary was broadcast on the same night.

This was the final series hosted by Jeremy Paxman, who then stood down from the role after 29 years. From July 2023 onwards, Amol Rajan succeeded Paxman as host for the 53rd series of the long-running student quiz show.

Paxman’s last-ever appearance as host aired on 29 May 2023 at the end of the series, when the University of Durham won their third title by defeating the University of Bristol in the final, which was coincidentally a rematch of the very first game back in August.

In this series, the universities of Coventry and Roehampton made their debut appearances, while Robert Gordon University made only their second appearance since 1994 in Jeremy Paxman's inaugural 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 University of Bristol185195 Durham University 380 29 August 2022 The Open University195 Newcastle University 310 5 September 2022 London School of Economics175 University College, Oxford 285 12 September 2022 Coventry University230 Cardiff University 280 19 September 2022 Cranfield University155 Royal Holloway, University of London 265 26 September 2022 University of Glasgow165 Queen's University Belfast 270 3 October 2022 Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge140 University of St Andrews 260 10 October 2022 University of Sheffield170180 University College London 350 17 October 2022 Oriel College, Oxford130150 Christ's College, Cambridge 280 25 October 2022 Jesus College, Cambridge225 St Catherine's College, Oxford 330 1 November 2022 Balliol College, Oxford210 University of Southampton 325 8 November 2022 Bangor University135 University of Nottingham 260 15 November 2022 Newnham College, Cambridge160175 The Courtauld Institute of Art 335 21 November 2022 Robert Gordon University210 University of Roehampton 300 28 November 2022

Highest scoring losers play-offs Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Sheffield175 Newnham College, Cambridge 285 5 December 2022 University of Bristol185 Oriel College, Oxford 335 12 December 2022

Second round Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of St Andrews145 Royal Holloway, University of London 235 2 January 2023 Robert Gordon University180 The Courtauld Institute of Art 255 9 January 2023 Newnham College, Cambridge150 Cardiff University 290 16 January 2023 University of Bristol205 Queen's University Belfast 295 23 January 2023 University College, Oxford160 Jesus College, Cambridge 245 30 January 2023 University College London180 Newcastle University 350 6 February 2023 Christ's College, Cambridge175 University of Southampton 265 13 February 2023 Durham University240 Bangor University 275 20 February 2023

Quarter-finals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Southampton135165 Durham University 300 27 February 2023 Royal Holloway, University of London17085 Robert Gordon University 255 6 March 2023 Newnham College, Cambridge110205 University of Bristol 315 13 March 2023 Jesus College, Cambridge115185 University College London 300 20 March 2023 Durham University100125 Royal Holloway, University of London 225 27 March 2023 University of Southampton180 Robert Gordon University 245 3 April 2023 University of Bristol20570 University College London 275 10 April 2023 Newnham College, Cambridge215 Jesus College, Cambridge 330 17 April 2023 Durham University160 University College London 305 24 April 2023 Newnham College, Cambridge 135 University of Southampton 255 8 May 2023

Semi-finals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Royal Holloway, University of London 160 Durham University 250 15 May 2023 University of Bristol200 University of Southampton 270 22 May 2023

This was the first time since the 2006-07 series that there were no Oxbridge teams in the semi-finals.

Final Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date Durham University 155 University of Bristol 275 29 May 2023

The trophy and title were awarded to the Durham team of Harry Scully, Chloe Margaux, Alex Radcliffe, and Bea Bennett, who beat the Bristol team of Sam Kehler, Jacob McLaughlin, Tess Richardson, and Alejandro Ortega. The trophy was presented by Jung Chang. This was the last regular series to be hosted by Jeremy Paxman after 29 years.

Spin-off: Christmas Special 2022 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. This was the last Christmas special to be hosted by Jeremy Paxman after 11 years.

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 SOAS University of London155 Balliol College, Oxford 230 19 December 2022 University College, Oxford University of Glasgow 185 20 December 2022 Durham University200 University of York 245 21 December 2022 Exeter College, Oxford150 Queen Mary University of London 220 22 December 2022 University of Hull135 University of the West of England 170 23 December 2022 University College London University of Aberdeen 200 26 December 2022 University of Bristol Cardiff University 230 27 December 2022

Standings for the winners RankTeamTeam captainScore1 University of York Tom Scott 2002 Balliol College, Oxford Martin Edwards 1553 Exeter College, Oxford Reeta Chakrabarti 1504 University of Hull Sian Reese-Williams 1355 University of Bristol Dominic Waghorn 1256 University of Aberdeen Jon S. Baird 1157 University of Glasgow Chris Brookmyre 110

Semi-finals Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of York155 University of Hull 255 28 December 2022 Balliol College, Oxford215 Exeter College, Oxford 340 29 December 2022

Final Team 1 Score Team 2 Total Broadcast date University of Hull165 Balliol College, Oxford 235 30 December 2022

The winning Balliol College, Oxford team consisted of Elizabeth Kiss, Andrew Copson, Martin Edwards and Martin O’Neill, who beat the University of Hull and their team of Katharine Norbury, James Graham, Sian Reese-Williams and Graeme Hall.

References

External links University Challenge homepage Blanchflower Results Table