Road to Olympia Mount 2024: Schoolboy’s remarkable comeback from rock bottom

This week’s first monthly competition of the fourth quarter in Road to Olympia Mount featured a competition among four students: Nguyen Trung Kien (Thai Binh High School for the Gifted), Tran Sơn Duy (Hai Phong Specialized High School), Nguyen Lam Vu (Ly Tu Trong High School - Khanh Hoa), and Do Hoang Phuoc (Hoang Le Kha Specialized High School- Tay Ninh).

Competitors begin with the Warm-up round.

Trung Kien was the first to take on the individual challenge, winning 40 points. Meanwhile, Sơn Duy scored 20 points, Lam Vu 50 points, and Hoang Phuoc 30 points.

Trung Kien in the warm-up competition

After the first round, Son Duy is at the bottom with just 20 points.

The 12 shared questions of the Warm-up round began. There was   little change in the leaderboard: Sơn Duy remained at 20 points, Trung Kien reached 45 points, Hoang Phuoc 50 points, and Lam Vu led with 55 points.

In the Overcome Obstacle round, the hidden keyword consisted of 9 letters. After the first question, all contestants correctly answered: "Irrational". With just one image revealed and a desire to  improve  his score, Sơn Duy quickly rang the bell and correctly guessed the keyword "Square Root". This success put him in the lead with 90 points, Lam Vu with 65 points, Hoang Phuoc with 60 points, and Trung Kien with 55 points.

The first question of row number 3 in the Overcome Obstacle round

The answer to the Overcome Obstacle round brings luck to Son Duy

The high-stakes Speed-up round allows contestants to quickly tie or achieve the highest score by answering just a fraction of a second faster. However, carelessness could lead to lost points on seemingly easy  questions.

On the first question, all contestants answered correctly and quickly. On the second question, only Sơn Duy scored points. The third question, a mathematical problem, stumped everyone, resulting in no points. The final question, about the historical figure Trương Định, was answered correctly by  all contestants. After the Speed-up round, Trung Kien had 105 points, Hoang Phuoc 110 points, Lam Vu 115 points, and Sơn Duy continued to lead with 180 points.

In the Finish round, Sơn Duy was the first to answer, choosing the 20 - 20 - 20 point package. With composure and confidence, Sơn Duy finished with 240 points. Hoang Phuoc, who chose the 20 - 30 - 20 point package, scored 150 points after answering two of his three questions correctly. Trung Kien, who followed, ended up with 85 points.

The Math question confuses Hoang Phuoc

Son Duy is taut even though he has the leading score

The final scores after Lam Vu’s turn were: Trung Kien with 65 points, Lam Vu with 85 points, Hoang Phuoc with 140 points, and Sơn Duy, who secured the monthly laurel wreath with 260 points.

Sơn Duy delivers an outstanding performance and convincingly wins the monthly title.