// Adds dimensions UUID, Author and Topic into GA4
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
31.2 C
Singapore

Netizens cheer Singapore whiz kid after team wins BBC TV’s University Challenge championship, saying ‘Imperial Zeng is the Most Valuable Player’

Twenty-two-year-old Maximilian Zeng played a key part in Imperial College London’s win against the University of Reading at the University Challenge final, which was aired on Monday (Apr 4).

The final, a hypercut of which can be seen in the YouTube video below, was a nail-biter, as Imperial College had been behind University of Reading 105 to 120 in the final moments of the championship.

The four-person team from Imperial College is made up of Mr Maximilian Zeng, Ms Fatima Sheriff, Mr Michael Mays, and Mr Gilbert Jackson.

Screen Shot 2022 04 06 at 10.54.47 AM

Zeng answered the question that gave his team a boost, and the game ended with Imperial College winning 125 to the University of Reading’s 115, as five points had been docked from their score due to an incorrect interruption.

The host of the long-running and popular quiz show, Jeremy Paxman, announced, “By the narrowest of margins, Imperial have won and Reading have lost. Bad luck. Many congratulations to you, Imperial. It was a very, very strong performance, I thought.”

Netizens declared Mr Maximilian Zeng, a biochemistry student, to be the team’s MVP, or Most Valuable Player.

Screen Shot 2022 04 06 at 10.43.47 AM Screen Shot 2022 04 06 at 10.43.35 AM

Screen Shot 2022 04 06 at 10.44.24 AM

Screen Shot 2022 04 06 at 10.45.23 AM Screen Shot 2022 04 06 at 10.45.05 AM Screen Shot 2022 04 06 at 10.44.50 AM In February, he told CNA about his love for maps, which explains his truly impressive knowledge of geography.

The former Hwa Chong Institution student was quoted as saying, “I stare at maps for about four hours a day. Not in one stretch, but I just stare at maps when doing other things. I’ll just tab into Maps and tab out of it. I use OpenStreetMap; I hate Google Maps. I have OpenStreetMap open constantly; I’ll just tab in, tab out.

It’s kind of a… fixation. I have very little of a social life. So I have a very restricted set of interests. I just think of maps all day,” he replied gingerly.

I had a globe next to my bedside at like three years old, and I just memorised everything on it. And then I got my Geographica which was a (roughly) 600-page, A4-size for-scale world atlas when I was six years old. Again, I just spent all day looking at it.” /TISG

S’porean whiz kid shines on UK quiz show, University Challenge with ‘doctoral exam’ level questions

Read also:

S’porean whiz kid shines on UK quiz show, University Challenge with ‘doctoral exam’ level questions – Singapore News 

Where to take the whole family for a prosperous Chinese New Year dinner – Singapore News

- Advertisement -

Hot this week

SPF: Nine arrested for creating shell companies to launder GemBet illegal gambling proceeds

Nine people have been arrested for setting up shell companies and corporate bank accounts for an illegal online gambling syndicate known as 'GemBet', as part of Singapore Police's broader World Cup...

SG woman uneasy as BF continues partying with his all-female friend group: ‘He once had a thing for one of them’

SINGAPORE: A Singapore woman has asked Reddit if she's right to feel uneasy after realising her boyfriend's social circle is made up almost entirely of women, including someone he once had a crush ...

Popular Categories

document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { const trigger = document.getElementById("ads-trigger"); if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { entries.forEach(entry => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here observer.unobserve(entry.target); // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); observer.observe(trigger); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
// //
Enable Notifications OK No thanks