TVThe second and last final week in the search for ‘The smartest person in the world’ has started with difficulty. Newcomer Liesbeth Van Impe came, saw and won without any problems. In the final, VRT news anchor Riadh Bahri was effortlessly played home by the inscrutable Delphine Lecompte. Everything made you feel that it was just a matter of waiting for the guns that really matter: Danira Bouhkriss and Bart Cannaerts.
VRT journalist and open book Riadh Bahri was tired. He was exhausted physically, but also mentally. He dragged himself through the game, and stood at a total of 76 seconds for the photo round. At the last minute he was able to recover somewhat, thanks to an extra 50 seconds that he took from Liesbeth Van Impe in the video round. He finished in second place, one second ahead of Delphine Lecompte. In the final, however, he didn’t stand a chance against the poetess. Delphine opened with a perfect score on the question about Anne Frank, gave a second deadly stab with many good answers on vaccines for children and played perfectly tactically.
The words Wilhelmus, Brabançonne and Marseillaise are probably still echoing in the head of that always sympathetic swagger, Riadh Bahri. In total, he was allowed to participate seven times. Just as many times he surprised, endeared, amused and shocked Flanders with his casualness. We were allowed to know everything: his difficult search for a man on Tinder, the venereal diseases he contracted, the great relationship with the man he found digital and with whom he eats cheese, drinks wine and plays with the Lego bricks on Saturday evenings, the leopard underwear that he likes to wear that same Saturday after 10 pm, and so on. At the Reyerslaan, a colleague must have smiled left and right with so much childish innocence of a serious news anchor.
Battle of the Titans
Bahri was certainly a bright spot these days. For the rest, it was after all clear that everyone in ‘The very smartest man’ is gradually preparing for the real battle of the titans. We don’t really count the cheerful and well-playing Jonas Geirnaert in that. The battle on the cutting edge will probably be settled by the duo that has stood head and shoulders above the rest this season. Danira Bouhkriss Terkessidis, the woman who shone without a loss in this jubilee year, and Bart Cannaerts, the man who just couldn’t match the absolute record of Ella Leyers, but made it clear that he was simply the best player of the season.
And meanwhile, unnoticed, the women are in power in the quiz that was (too) long a man’s bastion. It’s good that Van Impe, Lecompte and later Terkessidis can go for the win. I should also mention that this episode unintentionally contained a kind of tribute to Nicole & Hugo. One of the photo questions was dedicated to them. Coincidence, because this episode was canned before Nicole’s fatal accident. And just as catchy were the closing words of Riadh Bahri, who thanked almost everyone and made it clear that ‘The smartest person’ is a fantastic springboard for young participants to show something of their personality. Well said from Riadh.
The best quotes
Liesbeth Van Impe (after she announced on TV that she has breast cancer): “If you want to get a lot of cards, text messages, emails, pats on the back on the market in Antwerp, then you have to come here and say you have cancer. It is unbelievable how much heat is coming your way.”
Riadh (on the size of dogs): “Chihuahuas are not dogs. Those are rats.” He then picks up: “Chihuahuas are great fun. But they shouldn’t come near me.” To which Delphine: “I want to break a lance for the Chihuahua. They are mistakenly associated with Paris Hilton types, and stuffed into handbags. They are actually very intelligent, energetic creatures.”
Delphine (whether she’s watching ‘The smartest person’): “Only if I don’t participate. I am not a narcissist.”
Riadh (about his presence in the final week): “My husband wanted to be honest. He said, ‘You don’t belong on that list of candidates for the last week. It’s time to pack your suitcase.’”
Brusselmans (strikes): “Yes, I’ve been quite lonely lately. I would like to receive messages and emails. I immediately say that I have cancer.”
Brusselmans (strikes, bis): “I am thinking of making Pedro sugar uncle from Roman, my son, but that is not possible with his diabetes.”
(Read more below the video.)
Elias (about Brusselmans’ fatherhood): “Such a rocker with a ‘boeleke’ on his arm. And he will never forget that first word. With me it was dad-dad, with him it will be bomb-dad.”
Brusselmans (about aging): “I hope that I will have grandchildren and that we can do the death march together.” To which Pedro: “But you in a coffin. An urn.”
Brusselmans: “I once had three shit thrushes. But they died of diarrhea.”
Riadh (another update on his body): “Last time I said I had no tattoos. Now it is. The autograph of my father who died last year.”
Delphine (her favorite philosophical quote): “Let the grass grow.”
Hilarious moments
Delphine tells a funny story about how she was once bitten by a dog. “I had scissors, and no, I didn’t stab. Just clipped his ear. And then he bit me in the face. And I also got an over deserved pando from my grandfather. But it was not sadism, rather an experiment.”
Riadh Bahri lets himself go and says that he has an hour of ‘work’ on his hair every morning. “That is flat. I wet it, put a curling oil in it, put it well, dry it and then hide the bald spots”, it sounds honest.
Tipping moments
Brusselmans predicts a difficult final score for Riadh Bahri. It also looks like that for a long time. Riadh opens scoreless and has exactly 76 seconds after the ‘Puzzle’. Van Impe then has 245, Lecompte 146.
Riadh gets an easy photo round, Liesbeth scores poorly and Delphine fiddles with it. She gains zero extra seconds.
With a maximum, the author immediately rectifies that lopsided situation. Riadh answers moderately with his film about the film ‘The 8 mountains’, Liesbeth scores well with her fragment about World Cup football. She wins.
Riadh never gets involved in the final. He is just played home.
(Read more below the video.)
The final score (for the final game)
1. Liesbeth Van Impe: 391 seconds
2. Riadh Bahri: 293 seconds
3. Delphine Lecompte: 292 seconds
Play the sixth final episode
1. Jonas Geirnaert, third best player with 5 entries and 2 wins
2. Liesbeth Van Impe, already won 1 time in the final weeks
2. Delphine Lecompte, won 1 direct in the final weeks and survived 1 final
Then re-enter in this order:
Danira Bouhkriss and Bart Cannaerts in the grand final.
The final standings for the final weeks
1. Bart Cannaerts: 17 participations, 9 victories, 7 finals won, 1 final lost
2. Danira Boukhriss: 12 entries, 5 wins, 7 finals won
3. Jonas Geirnaert: 5 entries, 2 victories, won 2 finals, lost 1 final
4. Liesbeth Van Impe: 4 participations, 3 victories, 1 final lost
Delphine Lecompte: 4 entries, 2 wins, 1 final won, 1 final lost
Jelle Cleymans: 4 participations, 2 victories, 1 final won, 1 final lost
Merol: 4 entries, 1 win, won 2 finals, lost 1 final
8. Riadh Bahri: 3 entries, 1 win, 1 final won, 1 final lost
Lotte Vanwezemael: 3 participations, 1 victory, 1 final won, 1 final lost
10. Kobe Ilsen: 2 entries, 2 wins
Also watch this video about ‘The smartest person’:
Also read:
From near-flop to viewing figures cannon: the genesis of ‘The Smartest Man in the World’
VTM and Play 4 will focus on non-football fans in the coming weeks: this is how you avoid the Football World Cup on TV
Sense of humor, fond of their family and being able to be alone together: that’s why Ella Leyers and Rik Verheye choose each other (+)
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