University Challenge Therefore, the lowest score officially achieved against eligible opponents under quizmaster Jeremy Paxman was by Lincoln College, Oxford, who totalled 30 in a semi-final against the eventual series champions the University of Manchester, in an episode televised on 9 February 2009. This was also matched in the grand final by St John's College, Oxford, against Peterhouse, Cambridge, on 18 April 2016. Before these matches, the lowest score was 35, reached by New Hall, Cambridge, 1997. This score would have been lower if all fines for incorrect interruptions had been applied. The lowest score during the "Professionals" series was achieved by
University Challenge the House of Commons team, who scored 25 in 2003. In the 2014 "Christmas University Challenge" series, a team of alumni from Newcastle University also finished with 25. A all-time record low score for the series was achieved in the final of the 2017 "Christmas" series, when Keble College, Oxford, beat the University of Reading 240-0. The previous year in the "Christmas University Challenge" series in 2016, a team of notable alumni from The University of Nottingham scored 75, five points more than the alumni from Bristol University. Both teams conferred excessively and gave incorrect bonus answers. University College, Oxford,