University Challenge 2019–20

Series 49 of University Challenge began on 15 July 2019 on BBC Two.

The University of Huddersfield made its University Challenge debut in this series, while the Oxford colleges Wolfson and Lady Margaret Hall made their first appearances in the BBC 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.

First round

 * Three teams finished tied for the last two places in the play-offs on 145 each; Durham and Jesus College Oxford went through due to having heard fewer questions to reach their scores.

Final

 * The trophy and title were awarded to the Imperial team of Richard Brooks, Brandon Blackwell, Caleb Rich, and Conor McMeel.
 * The trophy was presented by Andrew Wiles, on location at the Oxford University Mathematics Institute.

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 University of Leeds team of Jonathan Clements, Henry Gee, Richard Coles and Timothy Allen beat the Wadham College, Oxford team of Jonathan Freedland, Tom Solomon, Anne McElvoy and Roger Mosey.