Results
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There were no debutant institutions in this series, all institutions having appeared previously, however this series saw the first University of Leeds team in over 13 years, having last appeared in 2011, and Exeter College, Oxford's previous appearance was in 2008.
- Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
- Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.
- Teams with orange scores had to win one more match to return in the next round.
- Teams with yellow scores indicate that two further matches had to be played and won (teams that lost their first quarter-final match).
- A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.
First round
Highest scoring losers play-offs
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University College London | 215 | 105 | University of St Andrews | 320 | 18 November 2024 |
| Durham University | 150 | 145 | SOAS University of London | 295 | 25 November 2024 |
Second round
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University College London | 255 | 55 | London School of Economics | 310 | 2 December 2024 |
| Durham University | 115 | 180 | Open University | 295 | 9 December 2024 |
| University of Exeter | 35 | 290 | University of Bristol | 325 | 16 December 2024 |
| Darwin College, Cambridge | 155 | 125 | University of Edinburgh | 280 | 6 January 2025 |
| Wadham College, Oxford | 25 | 345 | Imperial College London | 370 | 13 January 2025 |
| Christ's College, Cambridge | 215 | 100 | St Edmund Hall, Oxford | 315 | 20 January 2025 |
| Cardiff University | 70 | 180 | Queen's University Belfast | 250 | 27 January 2025 |
| University of Warwick | 215 | 110 | Oriel College, Oxford | 325 | 3 February 2025 |
Quarter-finals
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial College London | 160 | 180 | Christ's College, Cambridge | 340 | 10 February 2025 |
| Queen's University Belfast | 95 | 215 | University of Warwick | 310 | 17 February 2025 |
| University College London | 120 | 225 | Darwin College, Cambridge | 345 | 24 February 2025 |
| Open University | 95 | 135 | University of Bristol | 230 | 3 March 2025 |
| Christ's College, Cambridge | 205 | 155 | University of Warwick | 360 | 10 March 2025 |
| Imperial College London | 170 | 180 | Queen's University Belfast | 350 | 17 March 2025 |
| Darwin College, Cambridge | 160 | 150 | University of Bristol | 310 | 24 March 2025 |
| University College London | 235 | 105 | Open University | 340 | 31 March 2025 |
| University of Warwick | 220 | 125 | University College London | 345 | 7 April 2025 |
| Queen's University Belfast | 65 | 200 | University of Bristol | 265 | 14 April 2025 |
Semi-finals
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christ's College, Cambridge | 220 | 50 | University of Bristol | 270 | 21 April 2025 |
| Darwin College, Cambridge | 160 | 180 | University of Warwick | 340 | 28 April 2025 |
Final
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christ's College, Cambridge | 175 | 170 | University of Warwick | 345 | 12 May 2025 |
In what was the most closely contested final seen in the revival era of University Challenge, Warwick led for almost the entire match, having held sizable scoring margins of 125 to 40, and 175 to 115; the latter being held with less than five minutes to go.
Christ's, however, clawed their way back, and ultimately tied level on the final starter-for-ten, after Anniko Firman identified Agamemnon as the Greek ruler whose translated line in Book 11 of Homer's Odyssey was used to create the title of the 1930 William Faulkner novel As I Lay Dying . They then correctly answered one of the resulting bonuses before the gong, to complete their comeback victory and end the series unbeaten.
- The trophy and title were thus awarded to the Christ's College, Cambridge team of Anniko Firman, Brendan Bethlehem, Oscar Despard and Linus Luu, leaving the Warwick team which consisted of Ananya Govindarajan, Thomas Hart, Oscar Siddle and Benjamin Watson as the runners-up.
- The trophy was presented by Sir Ian McKellen in a separate ceremony at the ADC Theatre in Cambridge.
