Earlier in February, Singapore student Maximilian Zeng became an Internet sensation after impressing the world with his geographic knowledge.
Though the spotlight has since shifted slightly from him, his team from Imperial College has silently progressed into the finals of the University Challenge 2021-22 quiz show.
On Monday (4 Apr), Max Zeng featured for the last time on the programme as Imperial College took on the team from the University of Reading for the trophy.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Max emerged as the MVP at the finals, nailing a geographic starter question to give his teammates the opportunity to answer two more bonus questions that placed them ahead of their opponents, securing them the title.
Things started well for the Imperial College team as our favourite boi successfully identified a quote by historian Thucydides. His team then answered two out of the three bonus questions correctly, securing a 20-point headstart.
However, their opponents from Reading soon caught up after they answered a starter and three follow-up questions correctly.
The Imperial College team then went on a hot streak, accumulating 70 more points.
The 22-year-old biochemistry student, of course, was key to this, having identified the Niger River and three natural regions whose names will likely prompt a ‘huh’ response from most people.
Their competitors subsequently went on a tear, quickly accumulating 80 points and coming to a tie at 105 points.
However, Zeng and his teammates soon found themselves behind after their Reading counterparts scored 15 more points.
Despite the 15-point deficit, Max quickly jumped on the buzzer when the host asked to identify a mountain range in South Wales, securing 10 points.
The team then scored 10 more points after they answered two out of their three bonus questions on planetary explorations, bringing their tally to 125 points and giving them a five-point lead.
Both teams then failed to answer a question on carnivorous plants.
However, the Reading captain buzzed prematurely and answered the next question wrong, resulting in a five-point deduction.
As the Imperial skipper gave another wrong answer to the same question, the gong went off, signalling the end of the show.
As fate would have it, it was the Imperial contestants who emerged champions by a narrow 10-point lead.
The trophy was later presented by Professor Andre Geim, the recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Congratulations to the Imperial College team for winning the title.
Though this was no doubt a team effort, Max’s impressive ability to answer geographic questions has certainly made Singaporeans proud.
What do you think of Max’s performance in the finals? Let us know in the comments.
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Featured image adapted from YouTube and @GilbertAJackson on Twitter.
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