University Challenge fans were in shock by the result of Monday’s show. (Image: BBC)
viewers could not believe what they were seeing when a team from Wadham College at the University of Oxford suffered a brutal defeat after going up against Imperial College London.
The students joined presenter Amol Rajan in the second round of the competition, hoping to advance to the quarter-finals.
As the quiz got underway, Imperial quickly took the lead after the first set of questions with an impressive score of 45 to Wadham’s meagre five points.
Imperial’s score continued to soar, quickly surpassing the 100-point mark. Meanwhile, things went from bad to worse for Wadham as they lost their five points after incorrectly guessing South Korea as one of the countries that hosted the FIFA World Cup without any matches being played in their capital city.
Imperial continued to dominate the quiz with little competition from Wadham. In unbelievable scenes, Imperial was winning by 290 points to Wadham’s zero with just nine minutes remaining of the programme.
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Amol Rajan has hosted University Challenge since 2023. (Image: BBC)
Viewers were gobsmacked by the thrashing and rushed to social media to share their reactions.
One tweeted: “That was an #ImperialAnnihilation on #UniversityChallenge. Felt so bad for #WadhamCollege who I’m sure are all very bright students.”
Another said: “Wow! @wadhamoxford absolutely steamrolled by @imperial_london on tonight’s #universitychallenge! Amazing score Imperial, the other teams will indeed be quaking in their boots!”
And a third exclaimed: “I can’t watch anymore.”
Wadham managed a few last-minute goals and clawed back 25 points. However, they were no match for Imperial, who finished with an incredible score of 345.
Imperial defeated Wadham with an incredible score of 345. (Image: BBC)
Even Amol was taken aback by Imperial’s stunning score. The journalist, 41, said: “Well, what can I say? (Wadham) you were up against an absolutely ludicrous team, I mean, they are absolutely phenomenal.
“No one could be in any doubt watching you what a bunch of enormously brilliant and clever young people you are, so thank you so much for playing so well.
“Imperial, that’s a big score and it’s going to scare the other people. Well done.”