Macclesfield Quiz League |
News & Views |
2017–18 Season |
Cup & Plate QFs |
Cup |
Plate |
Semi–Final Draws |
For a PDF version of this page, please click here.
By Haydn Thompson, with input from Mark Watson.
Ox–fford | 113 | 84 | Church House Bollington |
Park Timers | 78 | 104 | Dolphin |
Chester Road Tavern | 51 | 114 | Royal Oak |
Dolphin Dragons | 91 | 109 | Ox–fford 'C' |
Waters Green Rams | 124 | 66 | Sutton Mutton |
Prince of Wales | 76 | 77 | Robin Hood |
Sutton Club | 70 | 89 | Pack Horse Bowling Club |
Plough Horntails | 97 | 78 | Harrington 'B' |
The questions were set by the Harrington Academicals and the Park Taverners. These two teams were asked to provide three question masters each; the Weaver and the Waters Green Lemmings were asked to provide one question master each. This meant (hopefully) that eight question masters were available for the eight Cup and Plate quarter–finals.
The questions are available here.
The questions were fairly challenging, the average score being 89 – as opposed, for example, to 104 at the same stage last season. I have long been an advocate of the questions being slightly harder in the Cup, when they are all conferred, so IMHO this week's were just about right.
There was one very close match, the Robin Hood emerging victorious over the Prince of Wales by 77 points to 76. Also worthy of note was the Waters Green Rams' score of 124. This was the highest score in either the Cup or Plate competitions for some time, and it means that for every one of their own questions they got wrong, the Rams got two passed over – plus four bonus passovers!
I've been trying to establish whether this score has ever been bettered, and I can report that it has – on at least three occasions. The Ox–fford have equalled it at least twice, and in 2006–7 they scored 129 (in Round 2 of the Cup, against the Cock Inn). The Ox–fford 'C' scored 125 in 2009–10 (Cup Round 1, against the British Flag). The biggest score I've yet managed to find however is 130, scored by the Dolphin in 2008–9 (in Round 1 of the Cup, against the Harrington 'B').
If anyone knows of a better score than 130 – or anything that comes close – please let me know.
Returning to this season's quarter–finals: seven of the eight matches were won by the teams that went first. The team that won by going second was the Ox–fford 'C'.
There is one B League team in the Cup semi–final draw, and three A League teams. In the Plate there are three teams from the B League and one from the C League.
The semi–finals will be played on Tuesday 20 February.
The questions will be set by the Chester Road Tavern and the Church House Bollington, who are also asked to provide two question masters each for the four Cup and Plate semi–finals.
The two losing semi–finalists from each competition will be responsible for assembling the questions for the respective finals, from those provided by all teams.
Ox–fford 'C' | Royal Oak |
Dolphin | Ox–fford |
Plough Horntails | Pack Horse Bowling Club |
Waters Green Rams | Robin Hood |
© Macclesfield Quiz League 2018