The second quarter of the Road to Olympia Mount 2024 is a battle of wits and strength among 4 male students: Nguyen Thanh Phuong - Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, Da Nang; Nguyen Minh Dinh Thien - Dong Ha High School, Quang Tri; Nguyen Quoc Nhat Minh - Hung Vuong specialized High School, Gia Lai; and Le Pham Minh Toan - Le Thanh Tong Secondary and High School, Ho Chi Minh City.
All four contestants were determined to win this crucial quarter-final and to make their homeland the venue for the live broadcast of the final. After the first part of the competition - Individual Warm-up, the scores of the contestants didn't show much difference. Thanh Phuong, Dinh Thien, and Nhat Minh all scored 20 points, while Minh Toan picked up 10 points.
Moving on to the Joint Warm-up part, Nhat Minh surprisingly took the lead with consecutive correct answers, taking his score to 60 points and making the competition intense from the very first round. At the end of the Warm-, Nhat Minh led with 60 points, followed by Thanh Phuong with 25 points, Dinh Thien with 20 points, and Minh Toan with 10 points.
The Obstacle Course test is a great opportunity for contestants to score crucial points and turn the tables. The crossword obstacle in the second quarter-final consists of 7 letters. The first question, about the word “Số Đỏ” (Red Numbers), was only answered correctly Nhat Minh by Nhat Minh. Immediately afterwards, the male student from Gia Lai quickly pressed the buzzer to answer even before the first image corner could be opened. However, Nhat Minh's answer was not correct, leaving the remaining 3 contestants to answer.
After the first image corner appeared, Minh Toan immediately pressed the buzzer and answered “Đại Việt”. The male contestant from the city named after Uncle Ho calmly made his decision when he saw the letter “T” in the corner of the image. This courage helped Minh Toan answer correctly, earning 70 points and tying him with Nhat Minh for the lead of the mountaineering team.
Speed Up" is the test that helps climbers close the score gap and gain an advantage for the "Finish" test. Nhật Minh regained his composure and determination after answering incorrectly in the "Overcoming Obstacles" segment, and shone by answering correctly and fastest in 3 out of 4 "Speed Up”
Before reaching the "Finish" test, the scores of the 4 climbers had significant differences. Nhật Minh returned to the lead with 190 points, followed by Thanh Phương with 105 points, Minh Toàn with 80 points, and Đình Thiên with 50 points.
In the final decisive test - the "Finish," Nhật Minh chose the safe set of questions - 3 questions worth 20 points each - to maintain his lead. Meanwhile, Thanh Phương, Minh Toàn, and Đình Thiên opted for the 30-point questions, hoping to pick up crucial final points.
In the first "Finish" round, Nhật Minh calmly answered all 3 questions worth 20 points correctly. By the end of his turn, the male student from Gia Lai accumulated 250 points. Following him, Thanh Phương and Minh Toàn both chose the set of 3 questions worth 30 points. However, Thanh Phương couldn't score on all three questions yet. Meanwhile, Minh Toàn continued to demonstrate strength in calculation questions and gained an additional 60 points after the "Finish" segment, bringing his total score to 140 points
As the final contestant to reach the "Finish," Đình Thiên chose the set of questions worth 20 - 30 - 30 points. After failing to score in the first two questions, the male student from Quảng Trị opted for the "Star of Hope" in the final question and gave an excellent answer, scoring 60 points.
In the end, Nhật Minh from Hùng Vương High School, Gia Lai, won the second quarter competition with 250 points. This victory officially brought the live television broadcasting to Gia Lai province for the first time. With his knowledge, understanding, skills, and confidence, Nhật Minh is sure to be a name that will cause many surprises at the 24th Road to Olympia Mount Competition Finals.
