Irish Interprovincial Quiz Championships 2019

The Irish Quiz Organisation held our inaugural Interprovincial Quiz Championships on Sunday 31st March 2019 in The Dalton Inn Hotel, Claremorris, Co. Mayo (and Warde’s Pub next door).

All provinces produced strong squads, with over two dozen quizzers coming from all corners of the island and some even flying in from the UK.

Tournament structure

We had enough participants to form two 3-person teams for each of the 4 Irish provinces. These two teams per province were designated A & B, with the players in each team being picked roughly by order in the Irish quiz rankings.

Each team then played against the other 3 provinces at the same level (whether A or B). For example, Connacht A played in turn against Munster A, Leinster A and Ulster A.

League table points were then awarded for each result as follows:

A-team matches:

  • Win: 50 league points
  • Draw: 30 league points
  • Loss: 20 league points for a 1-point loss, 18 points for a 2-point loss, and so on, down to 2 points for a 10-point loss. No league points awarded for a loss by 11 points or more

B-team matches:

  • Win: 25 league points
  • Draw: 15 league points
  • Loss: 10 league points for a 1-point loss, 9 points for a 2-point loss, and so on, down to 1 point for a 10-point loss. No league points awarded for a loss by 11 points or more

After all matches were played, the overall league table was calculated, with the two provinces at the top of the table playing each other in the final, and the bottom two provinces contesting a 3rd place playoff. These final matches consisted of both A & B teams playing together (i.e. 6 players per team).

Results

Match 1:

  • Connacht A 34-41 Leinster A
  • Connacht B 28-39 Leinster B
  • Ulster A 37-42 Munster A
  • Ulster B 32-25 Munster A

Match 2:

  • Connacht A 40-41 Ulster A
  • Connacht B 40-25 Ulster B
  • Leinster A 49-37 Munster A
  • Leinster B 35-41 Munster B

Match 3:

  • Connacht A 28-47 Munster A
  • Connacht B 28-19 Munster B
  • Leinster A 43-40 Ulster A
  • Leinster B 42-29 Ulster B

So the league table after all three rounds of matches were:

  • Leinster: 5 wins, 205 points
  • Munster: 3 wins, 120 points
  • Ulster: 2 wins, 103 points
  • Connacht: 2 wins, 78 points

Final:

  • Leinster 47-57 Munster

3rd place playoff:

  • Connacht 56-36 Ulster

So the final placings were:

  • Champions: Munster
  • Runners-up: Leinster
  • 3rd place: Connacht
  • 4th place: Ulster

Congratulations to Munster, the inaugural Interprovincial Quiz Champions!

Questions & answers


Thanks to the IQO’s John Groarke for writing the questions, and to all our attendees who contributed to such a fun day, especially those who volunteered to read and keep score during the matches.

Photo gallery