University Challenge results, 1999

The 1998-9 series started on the 2nd September 1998 and ended with the final on 27th April 1999. The difference this year is that there are 28 teams in the first round. The second round consists of the 14 winners plus two others. The four highest scoring losers play each other in two games, the winner of each taking the final two places in the second round.

The series was broadcast on BBC2 at 20:00 with the first seven shows on Wednesdays and the remainder on Tuesdays.

First round
02/09/1998Bristol245185Manchester
09/09/1998Balliol, Oxford195200Durham
16/09/1998Open350145Lancaster
23/09/1998Harris Manchester, Oxford185200Selwyn, Cambridge
30/09/1998Birkbeck, London300110Warwick
07/10/1998Portsmouth135230De Montfort
14/10/1998King's Coll Med&Dent, London130170Magdalen, Oxford
20/10/1998Aberdeen255145Newnham, Cambridge
27/10/1998Christ Church, Oxford150245Trinity, Cambridge
03/11/1998St Hilda's, Oxford115215Bangor
10/11/1998Corpus Christi, Cambridge145280Oriel, Oxford
17/11/1998Queen's, Belfast100230Sheffield
01/12/1998Downing, Cambridge160235Glasgow
08/12/1998City200210Leicester
Highest-scoring losers
15/12/1998Harris Manchester, Oxford185200Manchester
05/01/1999City210300Balliol, Oxford
Second round
12/01/1999Open210200Magdalen, Oxford
19/01/1999Aberdeen75275Bangor
26/01/1999De Montfort135255Bristol
09/02/1999Selwyn, Cambridge145325Leicester
16/02/1999Oriel, Oxford290170Manchester
24/02/1999Glasgow140355Durham
03/03/1999Balliol, Oxford205270Birkbeck, London
10/03/1999Sheffield190255Trinity, Cambridge
Quarter-finals
17/03/1999Bangor240170Bristol
24/03/1999Oriel, Oxford335160Leicester
31/03/1999Open240235Birkbeck, London
06/04/1999Durham325175Trinity, Cambridge
Semi-finals
13/04/1999Bangor130235Oriel, Oxford
20/04/1999Open310120Durham
Final
27/04/1999Oriel, Oxford210265Open
Special shows
21/12/1998Leicester, 1963145220Magdalen, Oxford, 1998
01/01/1999Tabloids210165Broadsheets

The winning team were Lance Haward (who famously only took the Open University degree so that he could appear on University Challenge), David Good, John Burke, and Sue Mitchell, reading Classical Greek, Computing, Humanities, and Literature respectively.

The participants in the special celebrity show were: Jane Moore (The Sun), Peter Hitchens (The Express), Ann Leslie (Daily Mail) and Tony Parsons (The Mirror) for the Tabloids, and Decca Atikenhead (The Guardian), Libby Purves (The Times), Boris Johnson (Daily Telegraph) and Richard Ingrams (The Observer) for the Broadsheets.

Winners are given in bold, and the four highest scoring firstround losers in italics.