Cambridge
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| Above: Some members of CUQS after Varsity 2023 |
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The University of Cambridge in England has a quizbowl team known as the Cambridge University Quiz Society (CUQS).
History
In June 1999, Sean Blanchflower and Robin Bhattacharyya of Trinity's 1995 winning University Challenge team founded the Cambridge University Quiz Society. Cambridge has had a long-running rivalry with Oxford, playing an annual Varsity Match against them; in 2014, University Challenge winner Alex Guttenplan inspired Cambridge to its first ever Varsity victory. Cambridge emerged as a very strong contender on the UK student quizbowl circuit, placing in the top three at the British Student Quiz Championships (BSQC) every year since 2015, and winning in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024.
Performances
Cambridge has secured four wins at the British Student Quiz Championships (BSQC), most recently winning in 2024 where a Cambridge A team consisting of Harrison Whitaker, Sam Foo, Agnijo Banerjee and Oscar Despard defeated Imperial A in a one-game final by 270-265.
Cambridge teams have been successful in ACF tournaments in recent years. A Cambridge A team consisting of Oscar Despard, Rachel Bentham, Krishnan Mulholland and Rhys Lewis won ACF Fall 2022 after a half-packet final against Birmingham A, winning 160-105. At the online mirror of ACF Winter 2022, a team of Harrison Whitaker, Liam Hughes, Abigail Tan and Krishnan Mulholland defeated Oxford B 330-280 in the last game to win the tournament. Cambridge A and B placed joint 2nd and joint 5th respectively at ACF Regionals 2023.
Cambridge saw additional success in the 2022-23 season by winning the 2023 Varsity Match against Oxford for the first time since 2019, with an A team of Abigail Tan, Harrison Whitaker, Liam Hughes and Oscar Despard defeating Oxford A 310-280 to decide the Varsity outcome for that year. In addition, a B team of Sam Foo, Agnijo Banerjee, Linus Luu and Oliver Church also won their 2023 Varsity match, winning 270-190 against Oxford B.