As history would have it, Kevin Ashman became the first Quizzer to regain his World Quizzing Championship title after losing it last year to Mark Bytheway and Pat Gibson in 2007. Ashman bested around 900 other quizzers from 24 countries around the world.
Ashman’s net score was 177 from a gross of 196 points. He actually tied with Ronnie Swiggers but due to higher scores on his weakest category, he took the plum from the brainy Belgian. (source: iqagb.co.uk)
No updates yet on the Philippines’ world ranking but initial individual returns showed that quiz monster and PLM alumnus Leo Gapol took first place (2nd in 2008) with UST wunderkind Wilfred Ritona taking the second spot (3rd in 2008). Brian Inglis hasn’t emailed the final list of winners and corresponding scores just yet but all we know is that Dodie Ocampo, Dave Oriel, Ramon De Las Alas, Richard Pante, Nilo Francisco and yours truly, in no particular order, would round up the top half of the Philippine rankings give and take a few names.
As for the quiz itself, the questions were well researched albeit tough to crack. Case in point, how on earth would I know who Turkey’s Elvis Presley is? I know a little Bollywood but Turkish music? The only connection I can make between Turkey and music is that old song about “Istanbul and Constantinople” whose singer escapes me as well.
The moral of the story: it’s not enough that you know a little of everything if you want to make it big in this contest. You have to know at least HALF of EVERYTHING.
As Wilfred would put it, it was great mental calisthenics while it lasted. To say the experience was “nosebleed” material is a gross understatement. It’s more of a massive hemorrhage since you have to bleed every neuron for the best answer there is but heck, that was a fun hemorrhage if ever there was one.
It seems that q’s this year were harder. I tried the q’s from last year and I would have done well but will not break top 70. This year has more participants. The top quizzers in the US (Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter- who plays for money) did not even play and the only previous Jeopardy champ in the US that tried is Jerome Vered who finished at 8th (155). Just have fun and hopefully your group breaks into the top 10.
The top guys in Europe have been doing this full time for years so I doubt if any change will happen in the future.
anyone knows if the final results and the qns have been published online?
Last year the British group (UK quiz assoc.) tried to sell the q’s. wtf? I just waited until some quiz groups ( I got one from the Indians) published them online. I doubt whether this year’s questions will be published until sometime next year.