23 is a remarkable number with all sorts of interesting associations – John Forbes Nash,Michael Jordan,David Beckham, Shakespeare, Jim Carrey (perhaps better not to mention that last one).It is also a remarkably high individual score in a quiz, especially at the President’s Cup level.And remarkably that score was achieved by two players in this week’s round.
Mike Billson is a frequent high scorer and his tally of 23 was the basis for a three man Oxford’s win at the home of league leaders Beds & Herts. Paul Sinha’s achievement of the same score for Sussex is perhaps more praiseworthy as his teammates were also scoring highly to rack up a huge 57 against a Cambridge team who have now suffered so many walkovers that a change of name to Axminster seems to be in prospect. The win takes Sussex to the top of the table by a very narrow margin. The best aggregate score of the day saw London recapture some of last season’s form to defeat Mastermind Club. Both of these teams now look long shots for the league title although there are no doubt many twists and turns to come.
The competition now takes a break for Valentine’s Day, returning in three weeks on February 21st.
| Pos | Pre | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Avg | 2s | Pts | Form |
| 1 | 2 (+1) | Sussex | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 292 | 235 | 57 | 41.71 | 80 | 10 | WWWLW |
| 2 | 4 (+2) | Oxford | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 248 | 236 | 12 | 35.43 | 56 | 9 | LLDWW |
| 3 | 1 (-2) | Beds & Herts | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 257 | 244 | 13 | 36.71 | 76 | 8 | WLWWL |
| 4 | 3 (-1) | Mastermind Club | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 273 | 263 | 10 | 39.00 | 93 | 7 | LWDWL |
| 5 | 5 (-) | London | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 256 | 258 | -2 | 36.57 | 75 | 6 | LWLLW |
| 6 | 6 (-) | Cambridge | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 203 | 293 | -90 | 29.00 | 57 | 2 | WLLLL |
| Mastermind Club | 43 - 48 | London |
| Gavin Fuller 18 Ray Ward 14 | Brian Wright 16 Paul Steeples 15 |
| Beds & Herts | 33 - 36 | Oxford |
| Peter Briercliffe 13 Fred Filby 11 | Mike Billson 23 Roger Mortimore 10 |
| Cambridge | 31 - 57 | Sussex |
| Roger Bennett 15 | Paul Sinha 23 Olav Bjortomt 15 Kathryn Johnson 14 |
| Pos | Table | P | W | D | L | Avg | B | Pts |
| 1 | West London | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 47.50 | 5 | 33 |
| 2 | North London | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 46.13 | 1 | 21 |
| 3 | Outer London | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 41.25 | 2 | 18 |
| 4 | Central London | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 44.13 | 3 | 17 |
| 5 | South London | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 36.50 | 0 | 10 |
| 6 | East London | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 37.00 | 0 | 8 |
| Pos | Division 1 | P | W | D | L | Avg | B | Pts |
| 1 | Broken Hearts (C) | 20 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 52.90 | 14 | 84 |
| 2 | Pericardium | 20 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 50.95 | 9 | 77 |
| 3 | Nomads | 20 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 50.15 | 12 | 72 |
| 4 | Atletico | 20 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 47.85 | 8 | 62 |
| 5 | Allsorts | 20 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 47.35 | 4 | 54 |
| 6 | Old Itonians | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 45.55 | 9 | 53 |
| 7 | Telstars | 20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 42.00 | 5 | 37 |
| 8 | Barb | 20 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 38.70 | 5 | 27 |
| 9 | Pineapple | 20 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 37.65 | 4 | 22 |
| 10 | Waterloo Sunset | 20 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 37.40 | 1 | 13 |
| 11 | Five Bells | 20 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 38.10 | 1 | 11 |
| Pos | Division 2 | P | W | D | L | Avg | B | Pts |
| 1 | Gray Monks (W) | 20 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 48.75 | 9 | 77 |
| 2 | Banana Splits | 20 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 43.65 | 3 | 67 |
| 3 | Rosslyn Park | 20 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 39.85 | 5 | 57 |
| 4 | Eclectics | 20 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 40.80 | 4 | 54 |
| 5 | Accies | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 38.25 | 3 | 51 |
| 6 | Sons of the Dessert | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 39.40 | 6 | 48 |
| 7 | Mealy Bugs | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 39.10 | 4 | 40 |
| 8 | Ovalytes | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 38.20 | 4 | 38 |
| 9 | Outcasts | 20 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 34.05 | 7 | 29 |
| 10 | Wharfside | 20 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 29.70 | 2 | 14 |
| 11 | London Scottish | 20 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 29.90 | 1 | 13 |
| Pos | Table | P | W | D | L | 2s | Pts |
| 1 | Sussex | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 117 | 16 |
| 2 | Mastermind Club | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 122 | 11 |
| 3 | Oxford | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 81 | 11 |
| 4 | London | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 103 | 8 |
| 5 | Beds & Herts | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 94 | 8 |
| 6 | Cambridge | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 89 | 6 |