Saturday 1st June 2013 saw the IQO host the Irish leg of the World Quizzing Championships. It was the second year for which the IQO hosted a heat of the WQC, and it was the first to be held in Dublin – in the Addison Lodge pub, Glasnevin to be precise.
In total, 38 quizzers sat down to take on the 240 questions over two one-hour papers on 8 different topics. This was double the number that sat it in Athlone the previous year, so we were very pleased with the increase in numbers.
For the second year in a row, Lorcan Duff was again the top Irish scorer on the day with a terrific score of 131 out of a possible 210, good enough for a place in the top 50 in the world!
Meanwhile, Mark Grant of Wales was the top scorer at our venue with a massive 156 points – good enough for the Top 10.
Well done also to Eleanor Johnston who was our winner in the Under 30’s category and to John O’Sullivan who topped the Over 60’s category.
We also had a fun team quiz with John Nolan as quizmaster that mixed the top players with the rest of us mere mortals via a seeding system. The seeding worked extremely well, with only 7 points out of 100 separating first from last among the teams! Dave McBryan also provided an enjoyable international-style event for the hardcore few who lasted into the night.
For a more detailed account of the day, read John Nolan’s personal take on WQC 2013 on his Tablequiz.net blog.
The following Monday (June 3rd) John O’Sullivan, our newly-elected Competitions Officer (and over 60’s Champion!), talked on RTÉ Radio 1 with Miriam O’Callaghan about the World Quizzing Championships. The full audio of this interview can be heard below.