Magdalene College runners-up in 50th University Challenge Final

Warwick’s team beat Magdalene by a 55 point margin

This is the second time Warwick has won University Challenge, after their maiden victory in 2007Andrew Dunn / Wikimedia Commons

by Amy Howell

This article is 5 years old

Monday April 5 2021, 9:06pm

The University of Warwick has won this evening’s (05/04) University Challenge grand final as the 50th series comes to a close.

Warwick won with a total of 195 points, versus Magdalene College’s 140 points.

The trophy was presented by poet laureate Simon Armitage, who discussed his time on the show in the past during the presentation. It was collected by Warwick's team captain, Rout.

This is the second time that Warwick’s team has won the show, with their first victory being in 2007. Meanwhile, this is the second time that a team representing Magdalene College has been the runner-up in the show, with the first time being in 1978.

Magdalene College reach University Challenge Final

Host Jeremy Paxman emphasised in the introduction to the show that to reach the final was an “achievement” for both teams.

Tonight marked the second time that the two teams have gone head to head during this series: they competed against one another in a quarter-final match, where the Warwick team was victorious by a 40 point margin.

Last week, the Magdalene team beat Balliol College, Oxford, in a semi-final match to earn their place in the final with 270 points versus Balliol’s 50 points.

The Magdalene team consists of Adam Davies, James Byrne, Ceri Payne, and Daniel Lawson as their captain.

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