Saif wins bragging rights of The Daily Star GENIUS

A three-month journey to find the first ever Daily Star GENIUS powered by Walton Smart Fridge came to an end last Monday, when Saif Al Imam Shota, from Scholastica, Uttara, found himself at the top of the leaderboard at the finishing line of the final.

Students from 27 schools from across the country participated in a game of knowledge and trivia, and after 12 gruelling weeks, only three participants remained. The final was worth the wait, however, as Shota of Scholastica; Sumaiya Mahmud of International Hope School Bangladesh, Chattogram, and Sameer Zia Chowdhury of BAF Shaheen English Medium School put on a stellar show, answering difficult questions encompassing many fields to prove themselves as true geniuses.

Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, inaugurated the final with words of advice and encouragement directed at all participants, as well as the young audience. He focused on the need to love one's country, and using one's genius to serve public interests.

The quizzing kicked off with a bizarre turn of events as none of the contestants were able to correctly answer any of the first two questions. But usual service soon resumed, as record holding favourite from the previous rounds, Sumaiya, took an early lead. Sameer fell behind as his nerves took over. In the middle, however, was Shota with his rock-solid determination as he stayed within touching distance of the top spot at every interval. The difference in points between leader and chaser fluctuated between 100 and 200 points, meaning the game could change at any time given two incorrect answers at the top.

After 40 questions, in the Rapid Fire round, it looked as though Sumaiya would hold on to her impressive lead. But Sumaiya had a bad ending to her journey, while Shota cashed in, and it came as a great surprise when the final leaderboard showed Saif Al Imam Shota at the top with 2866 points. The game was extremely close, as evidenced by Sumaiya's haul of 2818 points. Sameer pulled back from his nervous start as well to end up with a respectable 1996 points.

The winner was revealed in the presence of Firoj Alam, Executive Director, Marketing & Communication, Walton Group, who once again expressed praise for the level of knowledge among the young ones fighting it out.

This brought an end to the first series of The Daily Star GENIUS, powered by Walton Smart Fridge, the country's first-ever and biggest online inter-school quiz competition. It was an initiative of SHOUT, the youth supplement of The Daily Star.