{{Short description|American quizzer (born 1993/1994)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Brandon Blackwell | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth based on age as of date|30|2024|04|07|slash=y}} | birth_place = Queens, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = "Imperial Brandon"<br/>"The Lightning Bolt" | occupation = {{hlist|Quiz show contestant and personality}} | alma_mater = {{ublist|New York University|Imperial College London}} }} '''Brandon Blackwell''' (born {{Birth based on age as of date|30|2024|04|07|slash=y|noage=y}}) is an American professional quizzer and television personality. A native of Queens, New York City, he won the 2019–20 edition of ''University Challenge'' as a student at Imperial College London. He was one of the "chasers" on the American game show ''The Chase'' from 2022 to 2023.
==Life and career==
Blackwell was born in the New York borough of Queens.<ref name="ABC">{{cite news|url=https://abc.com/cast/1da725d1-d296-4141-8245-1f9e65326df6|title=Brandon Blackwell|publisher=American Broadcasting Company|access-date=2024-04-10}}</ref> His mother teaches middle school, and his father is an insurance adjuster.<ref name="NY24"/> He went to a gifted elementary school on Long Island and attended the Bronx High School of Science.<ref name="NY24">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/07/business/uk-university-challenge-brandon-blackwell.html|title=Q: Who Found a Way to Crack the U.K.'s Premier Quiz Show?|last=Segal|first=David|date=2024-04-07|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2024-04-10}}</ref> He earned his undergraduate degree in computer science from New York University.<ref name="NY24"/> By age 20, he had won about {{USD|400,000}} from quiz shows, including the ''Jeopardy!'' Teen Tournament ({{USD|10,000}}), ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' ({{USD|43,100}}), and ''The Million Second Quiz'' (runner-up) in 2013.<ref name="ABC"/><ref name="NY24"/><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2013/09/10/million-second-quiz-react/|title='Million Second Quiz' react: Hourglasses, doublers, and money, oh my!|last=Gonzalez|first=Maricela|date=2013-09-10|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=2024-04-10}}</ref>
By 2016, Blackwell saw London as "the epicenter" of high-level quizzing and sought to win ''University Challenge'', a television quiz show featuring UK college students.<ref name="NY24"/> He was accepted into Imperial College London for a computer science master's program.<ref name="NY24"/> He intensely taught himself British history using Wikipedia, flash cards, and old episodes of ''University Challenge''.<ref name="NY24"/> He briefly left Imperial because he felt the school's selection process for ''University Challenge'' did not produce a team well rounded enough to compete seriously.<ref name="NY24"/>
Blackwell then returned to Imperial and rejoined the quiz team alongside Richard Brooks, Conor McMeel, and captain Caleb Rich for ''University Challenge'' 2019–20.<ref name="NY24"/> The group practiced once a week for three months; Blackwell suggested a rule that a subject specialist defer to his teammates to float the first guess.<ref name="NY24"/> They dominated the tournament, winning all of their episodes by large margins.<ref name="NY24"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-queens-yankee-takes-the-u-k-quiz-crown-11587765498|title=A Queens Yankee Takes the U.K. Quiz Crown|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200424233112/https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-queens-yankee-takes-the-u-k-quiz-crown-11587765498|archive-date=2020-04-24|date=2020-04-24|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|last=Kaufman|first=Eliot}}</ref> Blackwell, introduced on the show as "Imperial Brandon", attracted attention for his depth of knowledge and his charismatic personality.<ref name="NY24"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/apr/22/university-challenge-brandon-blackwell-us-star-team-would-have-killed-it-without-me|title=University Challenge's US star: the team would have killed it without me|last=Addley|first=Esther|date=2020-04-22|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=2024-04-10}}</ref><ref name="WSJ22">{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/university-challenge-final-brandon-blackwells-imperial-rout-rivals-sfg5hd8zp|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210706061212/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/university-challenge-final-brandon-blackwells-imperial-rout-rivals-sfg5hd8zp|archive-date=2021-07-06|title=University Challenge final: Brandon Blackwell's Imperial rout rivals|last=Moore|first=Matthew|date=2020-04-21|url-status=live|newspaper=The Times}}</ref>
Blackwell appeared as a "chaser" (alias "the Lightning Bolt") on ''The Chase'' (US) in 2022-23 and as a guest on ''The Chase Australia'' in 2024.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://tvline.com/lists/the-chase-season-3-first-look-new-chasers/|title=The Chase Season 3: Get First Look at Key Art, Meet the Quintet of Chasers|last=Webb Mitovich|first=Matt|date=2022-04-21|website=TVLine|access-date=2024-04-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/tv/meet-the-new-chaser-brandon-the-lightning-bolt-blackwell-c-13660279|title=The Chase Australia: Meet the new Chaser, Brandon 'The Lightning Bolt' Blackwell, set to join Larry Emdur|last=Rigden|first=Clare|date=2024-02-24|website=PerthNow|access-date=2024-04-10}}</ref>
Blackwell has represented the United States in several quizzing tournaments. He won the national team event at the 2023 International Quizzing Championships in Torremolinos, Spain, as part of the United States national team which included his fellow chaser Victoria Groce.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.geekswhodrink.com/questionist/team-usa-takes-gold-at-international-quizzing-championships/|title=Team USA takes gold at International Quizzing Championships|last=Short|first=Christopher|date=2023-11-05|website=Geeks Who Drink|access-date=2024-04-12}}</ref>
==Personal life==
{{As of|2020}}, Blackwell lives in the neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens.<ref name="WSJ22"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://abc.com/cast/1da725d1-d296-4141-8245-1f9e65326df6 Brandon Blackwell] at ''The Chase'' *{{IMDb name|5143463}} *{{Twitter|_brandon2_}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwell, Brandon}} Category:Living people Category:1990s births Category:Quiz championship players Category:IQA team event gold medalists Category:Contestants on American game shows Category:Contestants on British game shows Category:People from Jamaica, Queens Category:The Bronx High School of Science alumni Category:New York University alumni Category:Alumni of Imperial College London