Big Match - no match

David and Lesley Brewis have won £10,000 by playing pub quiz machines. Chemistry teacher David, 27, and his wife took their winnings in £1 coins from 500 pubs.

The couple, who have been married for 18 months and are both Oxford University graduates, worked out they were smarter than the game The Big Match.

It gives players general knowledge questions plus a set of skill games and offers a £20 jackpot. The couple discovered The Big Match was installed in hi-tech slot machines called itboxes — which house multiple games — in thousands of pubs and clubs.

They used the internet to map out where the machines were located — then set off on a ten-week trip covering 2,000 miles.

David and Lesley, 25, from Hammersmith, West London, visited towns and cities including Brighton, Liverpool, Sunderland, Leeds, York and Leicester. They said they spent only £500 on travel costs and diet cola.

The biggest amount they paid into their bank was £4,900 — weighing a staggering 108lb.

David said: “There is no cheating involved, no hidden gizmos, just good old-fashioned brains. Some of the questions come up again and again.”

Lesley added: “If you have good general knowledge then you can beat the machine.”

The Big Match has now been withdrawn — not because of the wins, but because the makers regularly change games. Des Brown, of game maker Mazooma, said: “It could be that it will return.”