It costs nothing to enter, with a prize jackpot of £30 – but pub quiz tensions kept mounting as one suspicious team seemed to always find a way to win.
But now a secret surveillance mission – following up a phoned-in tip-off – has unmasked the James Bond-style Apple Watch tactics used by a cheating trio.
And locals are celebrating after the rogue side taking part and invariably triumphing at the Barking Dog in Urmston, Greater Manchester, finally got their comeuppance.
Rob Hardie, a co-director of the pub that opened eight years ago, was not only quizmaster but also detective on the decisive night – and has now described to the Daily Mail how the plot was rumbled.
People running the venue had noticed that some regulars were drifting away, especially from the weekly free quiz night held on Wednesday evenings.
And concerns were ramped up when a former customer rang the pub – based in a former post office – to explain why they and others were now staying away.
That is, a dominant quiz team were suspected of cheating – getting round a declared ban on people using their mobile phones while questions were being posed.
Instead, it was suggested, the three team members were spotted muttering into the smartwatches on their wrists and instantly finding the answers that way.
Locals are celebrating after a cheating pub quiz team was uncovered at the Barking Dog in Urmston, Greater Manchester – pictured are other sides taking part in the weekly contest
Organisers of the Wednesday night pub quiz announced the latest development on Facebook
The Barking Dog opened as an independent alehouse in 2017 in a former post office building
The pub’s Facebook page has attracted attention after making an announcement about the scam and how it had finally been foiled.
A post said: ‘We are disappointed to say that there has been a team cheating in our quiz. There have been suspicions for a while but no concrete evidence.
‘This unfortunately may have cost us some genuine custom. Last night we caught the team red handed and they have been banned.
‘We hope that any of our genuine quizzers we may have lost, come back.’
It was Mr Hardie who scrutinised and confronted the offenders, telling the Mail that the rogue team had ‘tainted’ what was meant to be an enjoyable community event.
He said: ‘We had noticed there was a side who tended to get if not most but actually questions correct, whereas you’d think it very unlikely to get every single one right.
‘A couple of customers had noticed and we took a phone call a couple of weeks ago from one saying they wouldn’t be returning to the quiz because of someone cheating.
‘We want this to be an evening that people enjoy so decided to monitor things and I realised it was quite blatant that this time were cheating, using their watches.’
The weekly quiz at the pub in Urmston is free to enter and has a £30 prize jackpot
Mr Hardie was running the quiz, covering for a colleague on annual leave, and said: ‘After the reports we’d had, I thought I’d assess things with my own eyes – and it was clear what was going on.
‘I let them continue for a while, to make sure it was correct – and then I approached them with the allegation.’
Mr Hardie described them as behaving ‘sheepishly’ when faced with the claims, adding: ‘They didn’t really have a response.
‘I think they were embarrassed more than anything – the pub was full and people were pleased to see what was happening. They sat very quietly, said sorry and left. What can you do, when you’ve been caught red-handed?’
The move was welcomed by fellow teams and Mr Hardie hopes those who have stayed away in recent weeks will now be tempted back.
He said: ‘It’s a weekly quiz, all done in house – we take quite a long time preparing the questions.
‘It’s meant for entertainment and is free to enter – that’s the real shame, that people should try to taint things like this. It’s a real kick in the teeth.’
The independently-run alehouse opened in 2017 in a building that was built in 1939 and first served as a post office.
Pub co-director Rob Hardie told the Mail how the event was meant to entertain – and how regulars had told of being put off attending because of one team (not pictured) under suspicion
The Barking Dog, whose majority shareholder is Mark Rackham, has featured in the Good Pub Guide for the last five years running.
Responses to the Facebook post about the rogue team included: ‘How desperate do you have to be to cheat in a fun pub quiz?’
Another wrote: ‘It’s always the minority who spoil it for the rest.’
And the pub was also told: ‘Takes a lot to call out cheaters – the impact on the quiz host and venue can be brutal. Well done guys.’
The pub staff made clear that the smartwatch-toting team were welcome as drinking punters yet were barred from taking part in the weekly quiz.
But Mr Hardie said: ‘I don’t think they’ll be back.’