University Challenge viewers were left devastated tonight after legendary contestant Bobby Seagull was knocked out of the competition following a battle with the formidable Eric Monkman.
Heralded as a “clash of the titans”, the semi-final match between the two fan favourites was hard fought, with both teams taking the lead at points during the episode.
But Monkman and his team from Wolfson College, Cambridge cemented their place in the final with an impressive final push, finishing the match with 170 points to Emmanuel College, Cambridge’s 140.
The loss of Seagull - the man with the best name on television - saw his masses of fans take to Twitter to mourn his defeat.
During the competition, Seagull delighted fans with his amazing name, humour and enthusiasm. According to the 33-year-old, University Challenge has been “one of the best experiences of my life”.
The maths student told The Huffington Post UK: “I am so proud of what Team Emma have achieved in getting to the semi finals - we have enjoyed every bit of the journey.
“They are not just my quizzing buddies, they are my life long friends now!”
Seagull added: “Whilst it’s a shame we couldn’t get to that grand final, we couldn’t have lost to a nicer (or cleverer!) team. Best of luck to Wolfson, they are great guys and it was pleasure to quiz against them.”
Many fans also celebrated the continuation of #Monkmania:
Depending on the outcome of next week’s semi-final, Monkman and the Wolfson team will either take on Balliol College, Oxford or the University of Edinburgh.
But will everyone’s favourite Roy Cropper lookalike take his storming performance all the way to the top? Only time will tell.