Lovel Hearn

Lovel Hearn
Noted subjects	World and European Literature, Femcel Content, Africa Content
Current college	University of Edinburgh (2024—)
Stats	HDWhite • NAQT

Lovel Hearn is an undergraduate student at the University of Edinburgh where he has played quizbowl since 2024. Lovel is from Leith in Edinburgh and studies History, although he is known for having previously spent years on both a Mathematics degree, and a French degree before deciding to start his university career for a second time.

Lovel considers his specialist subject to be literature written outside of either the UK or the US, and shares a passion for the life and works of Yukio Mishima with Liam Daly. Lovel wishes the history of Burkina Faso and the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations would feature more prominently in the quizbowl canon. On numerous occasions Lovel has claimed: that he has given up on taking quizbowl too seriously; that he has decided he only wants to quiz for fun; and that he only enjoys quizbowl because he likes the sound buzzers make when you press them. These claims are disputed by everyone who has witnessed him crash out over a bad neg at a tournament. Lovel is one of the few smokers who play quizbowl in the UK, alleging his best performances come immediately after having a cigarette; this is another claim which has been disputed by independent fact-checkers. Lovel spends his spare time talking drivel over a glass of wine in the Southsider or OX184, acting, and supporting Motherwell Football Club.

Additionally, Lovel procrastinates by writing Edinburgh related articles on the QBWiki, working out how to use the third person, and wondering whether the article he wrote for himself was way too long for an extremely minor figure within the British circuit.

Quizbowl Career

Lovel joined Edinburgh University Quiz Society at the start of his second year of university, and made his tournament debut on Edinburgh B at the 2024 edition of ACF Fall hosted in Durham, where he established himself as an aggresive generalist, prone to racking up a number of incredibly bad negs. Lovel's quickest career buzz came at ACF Fall, getting a question on Muammar Gaddafi within the first-line.

Due to a misunderstanding Lovel's next tournament was the UK mirror of 2024's ACF Winter; it was only after Lovel had agreed to take the place of another player who had dropped out, that he realised he was playing ACF Winter and not British Novice. Unsuprisingly this is, to date, his worst tournament performance.

In November 2024 Lovel did eventually attend British Novice, playing the tournament having failed to sleep at all the night before, and once again showcasing an aggresive buzzing style. Despite his sleep deprivation, Lovel formed an auspicious partnership with fellow Scot Liam Daly on Edinburgh C. After missing the first round due to the cancellation of a train, Edinburgh C won their first four matches in a row, with both Lovel and Liam being amongst the tournament's top three scorers during the preliminary phase. After lunch, Lovel's tiredness caught up with him and Edinburgh C managed only two further wins in the afternoon, despite Liam's Herculean efforts to make up for Lovel's faltering form. Lovel finished the tournament with 18 negs, a career high in academic competition. Edinburgh C's return home after the tournament became a protracted ordeal which involved two cancelled trains, a train that was so full that police officers prevented the public from boarding it, and a delayed overnight bus journey that ended with the team eventually arriving in Edinburgh at 07:00 the following morning; Lovel had been awake for 45 hours by the time he made it home.

In 2025 Lovel played for the only Edinburgh team competing at the UK mirror of PLAYTIME!, finishing in the middle bracket after an arduous, but perfectly timed journey to Sheffield. Lovel finished with an uncharacteristically low neg count of 5, this more conservative buzzing technique would prove to be a fluke.

Lovel played for Edinburgh A at 2025 Spring Novice in Durham; where, despite amassing 17 negs, he finished as the second highest scorer, just behind Edinburgh D's Daniel Bloom. Lovel and Daniel would be joined by Edinburgh C's Ted Harrison in an exhibition final against York A, with Lovel getting 5 toss-ups and successfully protesting a neg on a question about French rulers who shared a name. This would prove to be that Edinburgh trio's final appearance at a novice tournament.

Lovel was joined on Edinburgh Express by Liam Daly and Arun Uttamchandani for the UK's northern mirror of VAULT hosted in Edinburgh. The team of three, which was composed entirely of Scottish players, finished 4th as Lovel racked up 15 of his team's 21 negs.

In the summer of 2025 Lovel played for Edinburgh B at the UK's mirror of MRNA IV, the team finished at the top of the bottom bracket, and Lovel reached 14 negs.

Despite professing to despise trash, Lovel made the journey to Southampton to play the housewritten tournament SOTON TRASH, joining Arun Uttamchandani and Matt McGovern on a team called 'Beware the Ides of Marchmont'. Lovel finished 2-16-16, a statline which Kai Madgwick remarked was "incredibly based".

Question Writing

Lovel has written questions for the 2025 editions of British Novice, ACF Fall, and ACF Winter.