David Stainer
Encyclopedia
David Stainer (born 4 May 1978 in Exeter
) is an English quizzer best known for outstanding team playing skills.
After studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oriel College, Oxford he works as a solicitor in the City of London
.
as Oriel captain but was beaten there. He won the BBC Radio 4
series of Masterteam
in 2001 with Ian Bayley
and David Brewis. Bayley is also one of his teammates in the QLL club "Broken Hearts", they have won three European Quizzing Championships
in a row (2007–2009), the other two are former world champion Olav Bjortomt
and Welsh-Australian Mark Grant. Bjortomt and Stainer were also victorious at the European Doubles competition in 2009.
On TV he won the Only Connect
final 2008 as part of the Crossworders team with the other two of his "Broken Hearts" teammates Grant and Bayley. The Crossworders added a Champions of Champions play-off in 2009 and also beat Alexander Guttenplan
's University Challengers (3 of the UC-winning Emmanuel College, Cambridge
team) in 2011.
As an individual player he was not as dominant and as of 2010 is a fringe contender at world level ( 20th at the World Quizzing Championships 2010), a 7th place in 2004 was his best result. On the strength of this result he could play for the English national team at that time and immediately won the 2004 European Nation Championships, later he was only able to participate as an alternate, coming from the bench to win another title in 2007. (As of 2009 all four of the national team members are professionals while he remains an amateur).
In 2001 he made £64,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
and won four shows of Countdown
in 2002. He also won Beadle
's Money, a UK version of Win Ben Stein's Money
.
He met his wife, Katie Bramall-Stainer, a GP, on the student quizzing circuit after both had captained their University Challenge teams.
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
) is an English quizzer best known for outstanding team playing skills.
After studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oriel College, Oxford he works as a solicitor in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
.
Quizzing career
In 1999 he reached the final of the University ChallengeUniversity Challenge
University Challenge is a British quiz programme that has aired since 1962. The format is based on the American show College Bowl, which ran on NBC radio from 1953 to 1957, and on NBC television from 1959 to 1970....
as Oriel captain but was beaten there. He won the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
series of Masterteam
Masterteam
Masterteam is a BBC television and radio quiz show, devised by the team which made Mastermind. The show was devised by Dave Ross at the BBC Quiz Unit....
in 2001 with Ian Bayley
Ian Bayley
Ian Bayley is a UK quiz player who, despite his youth when compared with other leading players , won several medals in quizzing, both in singles and as a member of a team. He is largely known as a strong team player winning the European Championships three times straight from 2007 to 2009 with...
and David Brewis. Bayley is also one of his teammates in the QLL club "Broken Hearts", they have won three European Quizzing Championships
European Quizzing Championships
The European Quizzing Championships are an annual multi-disciplinary quiz event, in which representatives from various countries compete as individuals, teams and pairs. The last championships took place in Bruges, Belgium 4-6 November 2011...
in a row (2007–2009), the other two are former world champion Olav Bjortomt
Olav Bjortomt
Stein Olav Bjortomt is an England international quiz player. He was the winner of the inaugural 2003 individual World Quizzing Championships, in the absence of Kevin Ashman when it was a fledgling event with then only 45 participants...
and Welsh-Australian Mark Grant. Bjortomt and Stainer were also victorious at the European Doubles competition in 2009.
On TV he won the Only Connect
Only Connect
Only Connect is a quiz show programme first shown on BBC Four on 15 September 2008, presented by Victoria Coren. In the series, teams compete in a tournament of finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues. Radio Timess listings usually describe it as "a game of patience and lateral...
final 2008 as part of the Crossworders team with the other two of his "Broken Hearts" teammates Grant and Bayley. The Crossworders added a Champions of Champions play-off in 2009 and also beat Alexander Guttenplan
Alexander Guttenplan
Alexander Guttenplan is a student of natural sciences at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, known as the captain of the team that won University Challenge in 2010, scoring 315 points to 100 against St. John's College, Oxford in the final. His performance in this has been compared with that of Gail...
's University Challengers (3 of the UC-winning Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
team) in 2011.
As an individual player he was not as dominant and as of 2010 is a fringe contender at world level ( 20th at the World Quizzing Championships 2010), a 7th place in 2004 was his best result. On the strength of this result he could play for the English national team at that time and immediately won the 2004 European Nation Championships, later he was only able to participate as an alternate, coming from the bench to win another title in 2007. (As of 2009 all four of the national team members are professionals while he remains an amateur).
In 2001 he made £64,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (UK game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a British television quiz show which offers a maximum cash prize of one million pounds for correctly answering successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty...
and won four shows of Countdown
Countdown (game show)
Countdown is a British game show involving word and number puzzles. It is produced by ITV Studios and broadcast on Channel 4. It is presented by Jeff Stelling, assisted by Rachel Riley, with regular lexicographer Susie Dent. It was the first programme to be aired on Channel 4, and over sixty-five...
in 2002. He also won Beadle
Jeremy Beadle
Jeremy James Anthony Gibson-Beadle MBE was an English television presenter, writer and producer. During the 1980s, he was a regular face on British television and in two years appeared 50 weeks of the year. His shows regularly topped the charts beating Coronation Street and EastEnders on one...
's Money, a UK version of Win Ben Stein's Money
Win Ben Stein's Money
Win Ben Stein's Money is an American television game show that ran from July 28, 1997 to January 31, 2003 on the Comedy Central cable network with episodes airing until May 8, 2003. It featured three contestants who competed in a general knowledge quiz contest to win the grand prize of $5,000 from...
.
He met his wife, Katie Bramall-Stainer, a GP, on the student quizzing circuit after both had captained their University Challenge teams.