A bit of a one sided affair tonight to finish off the second round. Pembroke College Cambridge took the lead over Nottingham early on, and nearly reached 300 points. But Nottingham fought back to a three figure score, and only lost by 280-125. It was an impressive haul of eight starters for Ben Pugh that played a big part in the win for the Cambridge team, but the others played their part too.

A bit of a shock tonight in the first of the quarter-finals, as UCL defeated Manchester 195-125. UCL are clearly prepared to take a guess, even if it's a completely stupid one, which is a good thing IMO. They're entertaining too!

Having caught up via the iPlayer, I can't disagree that it was a bit of a shock result - but a pleasant one.

That said, Manchester didn't have much luck with their bonuses...

My favourite bit of the match was when UCL suggested that owls were buntings - a typical "what?!?" response from Paxo being followed by a double thumbs-up from Mr Karran, which in turn led to a thumbs-down from JP.

Well, Warwick have looked very impressive so far. Well, one of them has! Former winning team captain Daisy Christodoulou has been the best player of the series by a long way, with some smart interventions. He has almost single handedly run up scores of 200+ against Sheffield (225-50) and Edinburgh (265-35). Her colleagues main work has been on the bonuses.

Trinity College Cambridge, captained by John Lloyd of QI fame, and also featuring another former winning captain, Robin Bhattacharyya, have been less impressive. They're strong on the bonuses though (confimation please, RMF ), and have had some good interventions. Unlike Warwick, their wins over St Andrews (225-80) and Magdalen tonight (160-105) have come as the result of team wide ability.

So, who to go for. Well, the heart says Trinity, but the head says Warwick. I'm going to have to go for Warwick based on overall consistancy, but a Trinity win would not surprise me much either. Whatever the case, hopefully a good match to finish the mini-series.

The regular series resumed tonight, with Pembroke College Cambridge beating Balliol College Oxford 240-160. Pembroke dominated the match, but Balliol recovered to a respectable score with a sprint in the second half. Highlight was Ben Pugh of Pembroke realising he knew the answer to a late bonus, only for the gong to go before he could say it!

Phew! Tonight's match was a good one. Worcester College Oxford and Newcastle were level pegging almost all the way through. Worcester won in the end by 190-150. Both teams performed to a reasonable extent, and will be interesting to see how they get on in their next matches.

Another dramatic game tonight between Clare College Cambridge and Homerton College Cambridge, with both sides giving a good fight, that was not decided until the dying moments of the match. Missignals a plenty too, with Homerton picking up five!

Tonight's match was no classic, but the presence of UCL made it an entertaining half hour, especially when they accidentally buzzed for one of the opposition's bonuses!

Worcester College Oxford won the match 170-120, and thus go through to the semis, but UCL could still join them if they win their next match.

UCL had the lead early on, but Worcester got the upper hand late on, and overall, the better team won.

As much as I like UCL, I just don't think they're being serious enough; Paxo seems to like them, as they provide lots of daft answers for us all to laugh at.

As for Worcester, they've certainly recovered well from that slip up against Clare in the first round. Serious contenders for the title: possibly, yes. Just depends on the standard of them and their opposition, and there are some tough team left in this contest, so all to play for IMO.

Tonight's match was a bit of a bloodbath. Poor Newcastle never really got a chance, and Manchester stormed to victory by 330-95. When the Tynesiders did get to play, they were strong on the bonueses. But Manchester had the big advantage on the buzzers, and that's what won the match. Low point was an infamous swerve question that Manchester fell for, followed by the high point: a suggestion from Manchester that a pineapple is a vegetable!

A thrilling game tonight. Pembroke College Cambridge started dominatingly over local rivals Clare, at one point leading 140-(-5). But Clare fought back and, thanks to a spurt in the closing minutes, so nearly caught them. In the end, Pembroke won by 250-175. I'm so glad the match turned into a close one by the end; Clare didn't deserve to suffer a defeat like Newcastle did last week. Pembroke are now serious contenders for the title, but a lot is left to play for still.

Well, tonight saw the first Paxo-era rematch, as Balliol College Oxford and Homerton College Cambridge played again. Balliol led for most of the match, but a late flourish from Homerton saw them close the gap to 170-145. Shame to see Homerton go, but they've given us some great fun; Thomas Grinyer, in particularly, will be missed by many on Twitter.

Next week, Manchester play Clare, and the week after, UCL play Balliol. The winners of both go through to the semis.

Hate to say this, Jack... but, for me, this was the most disappointing match of the series thus far.

One would have expected that Homerton would go all-out to get revenge for that narrow defeat all the way back in August...

Instead, they didn't really get going until after the second picture round... by which time Balliol were almost out of sight, despite not having much luck with the bonuses.

And at the end, the Oxford side were some 30 points short of Homerton's losing score from that first encounter.

Anti-climax of anti-climaxes, IMHO.

Actually, I agree. This match promised so much more than it did.

TBH, I'd say this series so far has been a huge disappointment compared to last year's. There have been very few matches that I've wanted to watch over and over again, compared to last year. We've had some great play from some teams, but very few truely good games. Certainly nothing on the scale of the classic Sheffield-Magdalen match from last year, which I rewatched on DVD the other day.

Can't disagree there.

To be fair, though, the last series was always going to be a hard act to follow.

WOW! WHAT WAS THAT?! Possibly the best ever edition of University Challenge I've ever seen!

As was speculated, Manchester and Clare College, Cambridge were neck and neck virtually all the way through. In the end, Manchester scraped it by 270-250! Clare may be out, but they go out with the highest ever losing score under Paxman, eclipsing Sheffield's 240 from 2001. Such a shame they must leave us.

But then, it would have been a shame to lose the Mancunians too. They played brilliantly, with some great teamwork. I'd have them down as serious contenders for the title on the evidence of that.

While all eyes will remain open on the rest of the series, it'll take something to top this match. It was the best for months!

When Manchester went 70-(-10) ahead in the opening minutes I thought "Oh no, already this is looking like a cakewalk..."

But then Clare's Daniel Janes started doing what he has done so well over the course of the series - buzz in quickly and correctly, and dredge up the answers to bonuses at a similar speed.

And when we reached the music round with both teams having reached their centuries, you knew it had turned into a good one.

And it got better, and better still - Clare took the lead and went 25 ahead, Manchester quickly took the lead back and went 30 ahead, Clare pulled to within five, Manchester went 30 ahead again, Clare came back again and went 15 ahead, both teams passed 200, Manchester went 10 ahead, Clare went 15 ahead...

Then Manchester went 250-225 ahead, and looked home and dry, when Clare raced through a full set of bonuses to tie it at 250 each...

Manchester grabbed the next starter and ran down the clock as best they could, but there was still time for one more starter...

And in the end, Luke Kelly proved the hero.

Totally, totally agree that it is a shame we must lose either of these teams - especially when 250 is pretty much supposed to be a winning score, not a losing one...

As well as that, Janes finished with no less than ten starters - surely the best individual effort in a lost match.

A bit like a footballer scoring a double hat-trick yet his team loses 7-6, or a Test batsman compiling an individual innings of, well, 250, yet his team loses by around ten runs...

But Manchester, well, not only do they keep up that amazing run of semi-final appearances stretching back to 2004/5 (this, of course, does not count their absence from last year's series) - but I'd make them THE favourites for the title now.

Not just based on this performance, but also their last one, where of course they demolished Newcastle.

Worcester, Pembroke, Balliol and of course UCL have also been great - but, it must be said, none of them have quite put in such spectacular performances, and Jamie Karran and Co's win does feel like being a flash in the pan...

Well, last week's match was always going to be a hard act to follow, but UCL and Balliol College Oxford did a good job.

UCL recovered from falling behind early on to win 235-145. This was a bit of a surprise IMO, but a very pleasant one at that. UCL are a very likeable team, and they seemed to be taking things a bit more seriously tonight than they have before.

In order of qualification for the semis:

Worcester College, Oxford: Dave Knapp, Jack Bramhill, Becky Gillie and Jonathan Metzer. Came through the repechage after losing to Clare College, Cambridge in Round 1, and have since had a comfortable win over St Andrews, a fortuitous win over local rivals Queen's College, a close win over Newcastle, and a comfy win over UCL. Very thorough on the buzzers and bonuses, and a good collegiate team. Mr Knapp has shown confidence throught, while Ms Gillie has provoked controversy (in my books) by posting an expletive tweet on Twitter following the win over UCL. A team with a reasonable enough chance of victory.

Pembroke College, Cambridge: Ed Bankes, Ben Pugh, Bibek Mukherjee and Imogen Gold. Have achieved comfortable wins over St Anne's College, Oxford, Nottingham, Balliol College, Oxford, and local rivals Clare College. Ben Pugh has become one of the stars of the series, dividing the net with his buzzer technique and tongue movements ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-W-E9NKtKk ). His collegeagues have all added their bit too, and have to be taken seriously.

Manchester University: Luke Kelly, Michael McKenna, Tristan Burke and Paul Joyce. Comfortable winners over Selwyn College, Cambridge and Christ Church, Oxford in Rounds 1 and 2, but lost their initial quarter-final to UCL. They recovered by thrashing Newcastle in their elimination QF, and squeaking past Clare College, Cambridge in one of the best editions of UC ever! Captain Tristan Burke has split the net with his answering style, with many finding him annoying (though that said, he's been a lot more likeable since he got his new haircut!). The team all contribute their bit, and their bonus output has been strong. Making their seventh semi-final in eight years, these guys will be tough to beat.

University College London: Hywyl Carver, Patrick Cook, Jamie Karran and Tom Andrews. Comfortably beat York and Warwick, and surprised many by beating Manchester in their initial quarter-final, before losing to Worcester in their qualification QF. They recovered from that with a surprise win over Balliol College, Oxford tonight. Captain Jamie Karran has been one of the stars of the series, with his carefree attitude to the game, and cheeky mannerisms, most notably a cheeky thumbs up to Paxo after a joke answer! (He's an ex-Pointless contestant, so it's not surprising: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUtyQNHtu0w&#41 ). He and his colleagues have provided many laughs throughout, though they appear to have gone a bit more serious after the loss to Worcester. A very pleasant team indeed, but definitely the underdogs for the semi-finals, IMO.

Well, I must admit I was not looking forward to tonight's match. But, in the end, I was OK with it.

Manchester took the lead over Worcester College Oxford early on, not allowing their opponents a look in until the music round! In the end, emerging winners by 240-65.

As Paxo rightly said, Worcester did not deserve to lose like that so late in the contest, but they've given some good performances throughout the series, and I wish them all all the best.

Very well done to Manchester though. As RMF has said, they must now be serious favourites to win the series. They weren't particularly hot on the bonuses tonight, but they were tricky, I must say.

Next week, Pembroke College Cambridge play University College London to decide who meets Manchester in the final.