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It can be one of the most difficult challenges on television, and sharing the loot is a PhD student from Lucan, Co Dublin.
Conor McMeel and his teammates from Imperial College London have beaten the stiff competition from their rivals Corpus Christi College Cambridge, to take first prize in the BBC quiz, University Challenge.
The 26-year-old, a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and Oxford University, is in his second year of a PhD in computer science.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, he now works from his home in Lucan, where he also celebrates his great victory.
“It was a great experience, from start to finish, because I’ve been watching University Challenge for a long time. The show was a lot of fun. You meet a lot of people you already know from other contest competitions.
“It’s nice not to have to keep the secret anymore! I’ve had to keep a straight face about victory every time my friends ask,” he said.
The show was filmed for several weeks last fall.
“There is a long period between the time we are selected and the entire production process, so all the guys on the team were initially concerned that we didn’t love each other. But we all still remain good friends and end up doing a good job. Well “, said.
Conor and his teammates, Richard Brooks, Brandon Blackwell, and Caleb Rich, were selected to compete for Imperial College last year.
“There were two rounds of essays, and first I had to do a written exam. Then the university chose the best 20-30 candidates. Then they buzzed us in the quizzes for one night, and then they chose the team members after that, “he said.
In last week’s semifinal, the team beat Trinity College, Cambridge by 235 points to 80. Conor says they did a lot of preparation before the competition began.
“You must be someone who accidentally enjoys spending a couple of hours on Wikipedia. Many of the questions I answered on the show were topics I had read or remembered from other quizzes.
“As a team, we practiced a lot and went to tests together. I don’t know much about astro-physics, for example, but a question came up about asteroids in the final. I read about them a couple of weeks before, so it was great that the reading it was worth it, “he said.
Conor’s father Shane McMeel says victory is a great source of pride for the family.
“What impressed me the most was that there were 17,000 students at Imperial College, so even joining the team was an achievement. But getting to win was absolutely tremendous.”
“We are very proud. Conor always had a talent for facts. He just absorbed them like a sponge absorbs water and was able to remember them without any problem. He was always good at it,” he added.
Her younger sister Clodagh works in Belfast and was unable to travel home to watch tonight’s finale on BBC Two with the rest of the family.
“It was great to cheer him on and see all the support Conor is receiving. Everyone is delighted. I am really proud of him. He put in a lot of work and it is great that it was worth it,” she said.
Conor hopes to return to London to properly celebrate his victory when the Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
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