A TEAM from Oxford's Bodleian Library knew too much for the Royal Statistical Society to triumph in the final of University Challenge: The Professionals.

Millions of BBC 2 viewers tuned in to watch the Oxford University librarians' 230-125 victory against the statisticians in a gripping match, hosted by Jeremy Paxman.

In a performance that spoke volumes about the brains at the Bod, the librarians kept their nerve after a nail-biting first half when it remained neck and neck.

The Bodleian team was captained by Mike Heaney, the executive secretary for the Library Service, who admitted that representing an institution with 408 years of learning behind it brought its own pressures.

He said: "We knew that a lot of expectations would ride on a team representing so prestigious and scholarly an institution as the Bodleian. I think Jeremy Paxman was rather gentler with us than he tends to be with the student teams."

The team was chosen from among the 700 staff in a competition which saw contestants having to answer 100 questions.

Those who joined Mr Heaney in the final line up were: Dorjana Sirola, of the Sackler Library; John Wilby, of the Oriental Collections; and Bob Wyatt, of the Radcliffe Science Library. Gillian Beattie, of the Social Science Library, was chosen as the reserve.