Manchester reaches semi finals of Japanese TV showdown

06 Aug 2012

Manchester’s winning University Challenge team has reached the last four of an international tournament in Japan.

The TV quiz champions have spent time in Tokyo this summer as part of the ‘Brain World Cup’, a unique international contest between sixteen of the world’s top universities.

The show’s producers also spent time in Manchester filming on the University campus ahead of the big showdown which was screened in Japan at the weekend.

Manchester’s fab four made it to the semi finals but were eventually beaten by Tokyo, who later succumbed to Oxford in the final, watched by more than six million viewers.

The Manchester team of Tristan Burke, Michael McKenna, Paul Joyce and Luke Kelly were also able to spend some time travelling in Japan, with all expenses paid by the production team from Fuji TV.

The producers are hoping to syndicate the show to nations around the world in the future, with more of the martest students from prestigious universities around the globe competing for the title of 'Quiz Champions of the World'.

You can see clips from the Brain World Cup here with Manchester featuring in the first two minutes.