A rare University Challenge tiebreaker sealed the fate of a London SOAS team that had led until the final seconds of the show, only to be defeated by… a flame question.
The two highest scoring teams from the first round of BBC2’s academic quiz took part in a thrilling contest that London University looked set to win… until a late performance from rivals Durham left them all tied at the end.
After no correct answers were obtained to the first question, host Amol Rajan proposed a second tiebreaker, on the topic of South American camelids.
Viewers on the edge of their seats watched as SOAS student Cameron Lambert, originally from Shropshire, tried everything and interrupted Rajan’s question, risking losing five points if he got it wrong, which he did.
Rajan even went so far as to say, “The guanaco is the wild ancestor of which domestic animal?” It is a member of the camel family, native to South America and is related to…’
Lambert, who is studying a Bachelor of Global Development, chimed in with “alpaca” and SOAS London’s dreams of a place in the second round were dashed.
Rajan revealed that the answer was, in fact, “flame”, and a dejected SOAS team shook their heads, while the returning Durham children breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Viewers flocked to X and Bluesky to share their thoughts on Monday night’s exciting drama, with one comparing it to a famous Champions League final.
At the buzzer, both Durham and SOAS London were on 150 points…turning the crucial first round match into a tense playoff on Monday night’s show.
After no one answered the first tie-breaking question, SOAS’s Lambert risked interrupting a question: Incorrect interjections in the program cause teams to lose five points.
After Lambert offered “alpaca” as an answer to the question about South American camelids, Rajan revealed that the answer was actually “llama.”
After leading for much of the match, SOAS had to face the reality that they were now returning home.
One wrote: ‘What a fantastic episode! It’s a shame someone has to lose them. Let’s be honest, a llama and an alpaca are the same animal.’
Another added: ‘Ugh – He turned Alpaca when he should have turned Llama!!! Extraordinary scenes in the penalty shootout of the #universitychallenge. Shadows of Liverpool – Milan 2005.’
Another admitted that they had also opted for alpaca instead of llama, writing: “I also chose the wrong South American camelid.”
The latest series has already seen a smattering of controversy; Last week, the show sparked a backlash from viewers who believe host Amol Rajan pulled an “unfair” stunt and “robbed” a player of a correct answer.
During last week’s episode, four St Andrews students took on four UCL students to fight for a place in the BBC final.
However, fans defended St Andrews player Rosas when the host apparently refused to give him a point after he hesitated before giving the correct answer.
Rajan told the students that he needed “two answers quickly here,” before asking: “Of the seven SI-based units from which all other units can be derived, which two have capitalized symbols because they are named after scientists?” ?”
UCL player Prabhakar intervened but quickly backtracked and said: “No, I’m sorry.”
Rajan then passed the question to St Andrew’s, but told them they could not consult among themselves.
Durham’s incredible last-gasp comeback stood them in good stead, and they are now in the second round.
X and Bluesky were full of admiration for the teams that participated in the tense tie-break, and also full of flame puns.
Rosas came in and said: ‘Kelvin and…Ampere.’
He only stopped for two seconds, but Amol interrupted him just as he finished giving his answer.
He said: ‘No, I’m afraid that if you answer, you will have to do so immediately. It was Kelvin and Ampere, but you took too long to respond.
Rosas raised his arms and looked defeated as the game continued.
One fan on social media site X wrote: ‘Rosas got the answer right there and barely stopped. That point should definitely have been allowed, it can make a difference! It’s not fair!’
Another said: ‘They robbed Rosas!’
Last week, some viewers said they believed host Amol Rajan (pictured) had pulled an “unfair” trick and “robbed” a player of the correct answer.
Fans defended St Andrews player Rosas when Amol Rajan refused to give him a point after he hesitated before giving the correct answer.
A third posted a basketball meme referencing a player who was robbed and said: ‘Roses tonight #UniversityChallenge.’
Unfortunately for the St Andrew’s team, the extra point wouldn’t have saved them anyway as they were trailing 105 to the UCL’s 215.
Last month, Rajan dropped his head on the desk in despair after both St Andrews and Cardiff University teams failed to recognize the classic hit Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay.
And fans of the game show took to X to express their disappointment in the contestants: “Absolutely fair, Amol.” Astonishing and deeply disturbing.’
Another wrote: “For that level of ignorance they deserve to be sitting in the dock at the Old Bailey.”
University Challenge is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.