Macclesfield Quiz League |
News & Views |
2017–18 Season |
Week 17 |
A League |
B League |
C League |
Cars & Vans 4U Trophy |
For a PDF version of this page, please click here.
By Haydn Thompson, with input from Mark Watson.
There were ten games again this week, as all the A League teams played. Six games were won by the teams that went "second first", and four went the other way.
In the A League, the top four teams all won; similarly, the top three in the B League also won. In the C League, the Park Timers became only the third team this season to beat the Sutton Mutton, and there were also victories for the Park Taverners and the Prince of Wales.
Congratulations to the Royal Oak and the Waters Green Rams, who both clinched promotion this week. They are currently level on points, but the Oak have played all their games; consequently the Rams need only one point from their final game to finish as champions. In fact they will be champions even if they lose, provided they score 139 match points or more.
The Oak have not been beaten in the second half of the season; their last defeat in the League was in Week 7, on 5 December. They have lost three games this season - two of them by just one point, and even in the third the margin was only six points!
Congratulations also to the Park Taverners, who are now confirmed as C League champions. Promotion was already in the bag for them after last week, and also for the Sutton Mutton.
Defeats for the Wharfies and the British Flag confirmed that barring unforseen circumstances, both of these teams will play in the B League next season. They will battle to avoid the wooden spoon in Week 18. The A League title race however has gone right to the wire: the winners of the Ox–fford derby will be champions. Meanwhile, all there is to play for in the Dolphin derby is one league place for the Dragons.
Top score this week was 51, by Bob Thompson and Mark Watson. Bob and Mark each had the same set of questions - second on the team that went "second first". This continues a remarkable run for Bob, who has now played four times this season and scored 51 each time!
There were five scores in the 40s: Alice Walker with 48, Alan Hodgson with 45, and 42s from Brian Bogie, Alan Gilday, and Dave Partington on his return from a holiday in the sun.
The best score in the C League was 36 by Glyn Bradley, who also had the same questions as Bob Thompson and Mark Watson.
There were seven personal bests this week, and 21 personal worsts (or equal worsts). Apart from the aforementioned Bob Thompson, Alice Walker and Glyn Bradley, the four other personal bests were for Bob Astles (39), Ian Grieve (30), Martin Biss (27), and Pat Jeater (24).
In the A League individual table, Mark Watson finally overtook Haydn Thompson (who also had the same set of questions, but is less familiar with the respective oeuvres of The Smiths and John Cooper Clarke). Haydn must now score at least 48 in Week 18, and one more correct answer than Mark, to claim the title for the first time ever.
In the B League, the only people in the current top six who can play next week are Keith Pointon and Dave Partington. Either of them can snatch the title from Alasdair Reid; to do so, Keith needs to score 36 but Dave needs only 33. It's any one of those three really ...
In the C League, any one of the current top four can still win it. Wynne Keith–Davies must score at least 27 to be in with a chance, Glyn Bradley 36, and Shauna Barstow 45. But if Graham Wallace scores more than 24, this will raise the stakes even higher!
Church House Bollington | 151 | 138 | Wharfies |
Ashton Davies | 39 | 42 | Brian Bogie |
Dolphin Dragons | 135 | 167 | Ox–fford 'C' |
Liz Horrocks | 33 | 48 | Alice Walker (pb) |
Ox–fford | 158 | 154 | Weaver |
Mark Watson | 51 | 42 30 30 |
Alan Gilday Ian Grieve (pb) Graham Bailey |
British Flag | 119 | 157 | Dolphin |
Phil Davies | 27 | 45 | Alan Hodgson |
Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Total | Points | |
Ox–fford 'C' | 13 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2218 | 22 |
Ox–fford | 13 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 2103 | 21 |
Dolphin | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 2037 | 17 |
Church House Bollington | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 2052 | 13 |
Weaver | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 2117 | 11 |
Dolphin Dragons | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1833 | 10 |
Wharfies | 13 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 1798 | 6 |
British Flag | 13 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 1783 | 6 |
Team | Played | Total | Highest | Lowest | Week 17 | |
Mark Watson | Ox–fford | 12 | 525 | 54 | 45 | 51 |
Haydn Thompson | Ox–fford 'C' | 13 | 516 | 54 | 39 | 39 |
Alan Hodgson | Dolphin | 13 | 480 | 51 | 39 | 45 |
Alice Walker | Ox–fford 'C' | 13 | 477 | 48 | 36 | 48 |
Peter McBride | Dolphin | 13 | 444 | 51 | 30 | 27 |
Brian Bogie | Wharfies | 12 | 435 | 51 | 30 | 42 |
Graham Bailey | Weaver | 14 | 417 | 45 | 30 | 30 |
Alan Gilday | Weaver | 13 | 408 | 48 | 27 | 42 |
Ashton Davies | Church House Bollington | 10 | 405 | 51 | 30 | 39 |
Liz Horrocks | Dolphin Dragons | 13 | 381 | 45 | 27 | 33 |
Waters Green Rams | 174 | 140 | Harrington Academicals |
Bob Thompson (pb) Bob Astles (pb) |
51 39 |
42 | Dave Partington |
Plough Horntails | 122 | 140 | Nags Head |
Anne Jeater Pat Jeater (pb) |
30 24 |
30 30 |
Andrew Wright Alasdair Reid |
Harrington 'B' | 124 | 152 | Royal Oak |
John Green Martin Biss (pb) |
33 27 |
30 30 |
Alan James Bill Cawley |
Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Total | Points | |
Royal Oak | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 2132 | 22 |
Waters Green Rams | 13 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1994 | 22 |
Nags Head | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 2000 | 20 |
Waters Green Lemmings | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1723 | 15 |
Harrington Academicals | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1708 | 11 |
Plough Horntails | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1813 | 11 |
Robin Hood | 13 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 1743 | 5 |
Harrington 'B' | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1505 | 0 |
Team | Played | Total | Highest | Lowest | Week 17 | |
Alasdair Reid | Nags Head | 14 | 405 | 54 | 30 | 30 |
Keith Pointon | Waters Green Rams | 13 | 405 | 45 | 33 | 33 |
Dave Partington | Harrington Academicals | 11 | 399 | 48 | 24 | 42 |
Andrew Wright | Nags Head | 14 | 375 | 51 | 27 | 30 |
Alan James | Royal Oak | 14 | 372 | 42 | 27 | 30 |
Bill Cawley | Royal Oak | 13 | 357 | 42 | 21 | 30 |
Rob Parkin | Harrington Academicals | 10 | 348 | 48 | 24 | 33 |
Rosalie James | Royal Oak | 14 | 348 | 45 | 27 | 27 |
Jon Thompson | Waters Green Lemmings | 13 | 342 | 42 | 24 | |
Jim Kennelly | Robin Hood | 11 | 339 | 42 | 21 |
Pack Horse Bowling Club | 117 | 126 | Park Taverners |
Andrew Vickerstaff | 21 | 30 | Heather Wallace |
Cock Inn | 99 | 114 | Prince of Wales |
Peter Wilcox Peter Bullivant |
18 18 |
27 | Andy Ridgway |
Park Timers | 130 | 110 | Sutton Mutton |
Glyn Bradley (pb) | 36 | 27 | Wynne Keith–Davies |
Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Total | Points | |
Park Taverners | 13 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1699 | 22 |
Sutton Mutton | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 1583 | 18 |
Sutton Club | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1574 | 15 |
Park Timers | 13 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 1577 | 14 |
Cock Inn | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 1589 | 13 |
Prince of Wales | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 1589 | 10 |
Pack Horse Bowling Club | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1524 | 10 |
Chester Road Tavern | 13 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1389 | 4 |
Team | Played | Total | Highest | Lowest | Week 17 | |
Graham Wallace | Park Taverners | 11 | 333 | 42 | 24 | 27 |
Wynne Keith–Davies | Sutton Mutton | 13 | 327 | 42 | 21 | 27 |
Glyn Bradley | Park Timers | 12 | 318 | 36 | 18 | 36 |
Shauna Barstow | Park Taverners | 13 | 306 | 51 | 18 | 18 |
Peter Wilcox | Cock Inn | 13 | 291 | 33 | 18 | 18 |
John Poyser | Park Timers | 13 | 285 | 36 | 18 | 33 |
Mike Proctor | Sutton Mutton | 12 | 282 | 39 | 15 | 15 |
Andy Ridgway | Prince of Wales | 14 | 276 | 39 | 15 | 27 |
Jackie Hulme | Cock Inn | 12 | 273 | 36 | 15 | 15 |
Chris Butler | Sutton Club | 11 | 261 | 39 | 12 |
Wk | Difficulty | Balance | Ent'mnt | Total | Last Yr | |||
1 | 1 | Spec | Ox–fford | 10.00 | 8.32 | 7.22 | 25.54 | 24.69 |
2 | 12 | GK | Park Timers | 10.00 | 8.13 | 7.07 | 25.20 | 23.61 |
3 | 3 | Spec | British Flag | 7.58 | 9.92 | 7.11 | 24.61 | 22.17 |
4 | 6 | GK | Sutton Club | 7.33 | 8.68 | 5.79 | 21.80 | 19.98 |
5 | 17 | Spec | Chester Road Tavern | 6.74 | 7.81 | 6.05 | 20.59 | 20.47 |
6 | 15 | Spec | Dolphin Dragons | 8.33 | 5.24 | 6.97 | 20.54 | 22.04 |
7 | 5 | GK | Ox–fford 'C' | 4.81 | 8.70 | 5.37 | 18.88 | 17.41 |
8 | 7 | Spec | Wharfies | 4.62 | 8.78 | 5.44 | 18.85 | 14.58 |
9 | 16 | Spec | Harrington Academicals | 4.39 | 8.08 | 5.61 | 18.09 | (21.53) |
10 | 15 | GK | Dolphin Dragons | 5.75 | 6.05 | 6.26 | 18.06 | 22.12 |
11 | 4 | GK | Waters Green Rams | 5.44 | 6.16 | 6.22 | 17.82 | 18.84 |
12 | 2 | GK | Royal Oak | 4.68 | 6.90 | 5.72 | 17.30 | 8.20 |
13 | 13 | Spec | Church House Bollington | 4.46 | 6.26 | 6.22 | 16.94 | 20.49 |
14 | 12 | Spec | Harrington 'B' | 4.91 | 5.46 | 6.28 | 16.65 | (10.27) |
15 | 2 | Spec | Sutton Mutton | 4.09 | 8.43 | 3.44 | 15.96 | (11.50) |
16 | 4 | Spec | Pack Horse Bowling Club | 2.61 | 8.15 | 4.40 | 15.17 | (13.95) |
17 | 13 | GK | Church House Bollington | 2.72 | 7.11 | 5.22 | 15.05 | 15.79 |
18 | 3 | GK | British Flag | 2.96 | 6.41 | 5.67 | 15.04 | (22.17) |
19 | 6 | Spec | Sutton Club | 4.71 | 5.05 | 5.22 | 14.98 | (19.98) |
20 | 8 | Spec | Waters Green Lemmings | 2.09 | 8.12 | 4.32 | 14.53 | 22.21 |
21 | 8 | GK | Chester Road Tavern | 5.40 | 3.41 | 5.67 | 14.48 | (20.47) |
22 | 7 | GK | Wharfies | 4.36 | 6.37 | 3.33 | 14.07 | 22.03 |
23 | 1 | GK | Ox–fford | 6.89 | 0.00 | 6.50 | 13.39 | 17.22 |
24 | 5 | Spec | Ox–fford 'C' | 3.82 | 3.52 | 5.79 | 13.13 | 19.47 |
25 | 11 | GK | Dolphin | 3.70 | 5.10 | 4.33 | 13.12 | 14.05 |
26 | 17 | GK | Waters Green Lemmings | 2.71 | 5.73 | 4.25 | 12.70 | (22.21) |
27 | 9 | Spec | Prince of Wales | 0.00 | 8.67 | 3.83 | 12.50 | (11.16) |
28 | 16 | GK | Park Taverners | 4.56 | 1.61 | 5.67 | 11.85 | (20.43) |
29 | 14 | Spec | Robin Hood | 3.67 | 2.62 | 5.06 | 11.36 | 14.01 |
30 | 10 | GK | Plough Horntails | 3.61 | 0.94 | 5.11 | 9.66 | (16.35) |
31 | 14 | GK | Robin Hood | 0.00 | 4.12 | 4.45 | 8.57 | 14.12 |
32 | 9 | GK | Nags Head | 0.74 | 2.61 | 5.11 | 8.46 | (14.19) |
33 | 10 | Spec | Cock Inn | 2.82 | 1.68 | 3.83 | 8.33 | (14.69) |
34 | 11 | Spec | Dolphin | 3.21 | 0.00 | 4.67 | 7.88 | 20.37 |
For the full spreadsheet, please click here.
The Chester Road Tavern's Specialist questions scored well all round. They are currently 10th in the "entertainment only" table, and 5th overall. The General Knowledge questions, set by the Waters Green Lemmings, were less popular and are 30th out of 34 for Entertainment. They were least popular in the C League, where they were given the second lowest score of the season so far for a GK set.
The Specialist questions were easier than average; teams scored on average 108% of their average scores. The General Knowledge were a little on the hard side, and the "average average" was 93%.
Both sets were reasonably well balanced, and the bias was towards the teams that went first in each case. This meant that the bias cancelled itself out, and overall the questions were very well balanced.
Not only that, but because one set was slightly easier than average and the other was slightly harder, the total scores were very close to the average. Teams that went "first first" scored on average 99% of their average scores, while those that went "second first" scored on average exactly 100% of their averages. In fact, four of the ten teams going "second first" scored exactly that: the Wharfies (138), the Royal Oak (152), the Pack Horse Bowling Club (117) and the Prince of Wales (114).
© Macclesfield Quiz League 2018