University Challenge 2018–19

Series 48 of University Challenge began on 16 July 2018 on BBC Two.

The University of London Institute in Paris and Darwin College, Cambridge appeared for the first time in this series.

Results

 * Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
 * Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.
 * Teams with orange scores had to win one more match to return in the next round.
 * Teams with yellow scores indicate that two further matches had to be played and won (teams that lost their first quarter-final match).
 * A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

Final
In what was the most closely contested final University Challenge had seen for the past decade, St Edmund Hall, Oxford had leads of 40 to -5 and 80 to 40 before Edinburgh fought back to take a commanding 125 to 70 lead with around seven minutes left. St Edmund Hall, however, mounted a comeback of their own and took a 5-point lead with under a minute remaining.

However, Robbie Campbell-Hewson correctly answered the difficult ensuing starter question, identifying that the first three letters of the birthplace of William Gladstone, Beryl Bainbridge and Wayne Rooney (LIV of Liverpool) equalled 54 when spelt using roman numerals, to give Edinburgh a 5 point lead of their own. Edinburgh then successfully answered two bonus questions and allowed the clock to run down sufficiently to snatch victory.


 * The trophy and title were thus awarded to the Edinburgh team of Matt Booth, Marco Malusà, Max Fitz-James, and Robbie Campbell Hewson.
 * The Edinburgh team were the only Scottish champions in the Paxman era and the first since 1983.
 * The trophy was presented by Sebastian Faulks.

First round
Each year, a Christmas special sequence is aired featuring distinguished alumni. Out of 7 first-round winners, the top 4 highest-scoring teams progress to the semi-finals. The teams consist of celebrities who represent their alma maters.
 * Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
 * Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.
 * Teams with grey scores won their match but did not achieve a high enough score to proceed to the next round.
 * A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

Final
The winning Peterhouse, Cambridge team of Dan Mazer, Mark Horton, Michael Howard, and Michael Axworthy beat the University of Bristol and their team of Philip Ball, Laura Wade, Misha Glenny and Iain Stewart.