In fact one of my favourite acts on the night was the first on and he didn't even get a placing. Scott Oswald hit the ground running with a frantically funny set, partly about Pompeii and occasionally about having a shiny bald head (the latter was not the only thing he shared with Harry Hill, his physical delivery also had a habit of spinning off at surreal tangents). Admittedly his gag about a wanker being frozen in time during the volcanic eruption wasn't the most original but I could certainly see potential here.

 

Paggy was an interesting act, who, despite quipping that 'Paggy' implied passive aggressive, was certainly not short on perfoming confidence, delivering a mixed bag of material with an assured style. If the writing wasn't always the tightest – though there was a very good gag about why autistic people should shop at Asda – there were original flashes and sure signs that Paggy will get better with experience. 

 

Louis Beer straddled a thin line between comic eccentricity and mental health banter, homing in on body issues, the voices in his head and finding a comic take on the well-trodden idea that the body keeps the score. There was no shortage of confidence here too as he found the funny in his eczema. At times the comedy was bit on the flakey side but he generated plenty of laughs in the room.

 

After a run of acts that portrayed themselves as mentally fragile Tracey Davis was a six foot plus middle aged woman with a booming voice who doesn't suffer fools gladly, the personification of assertiveness. Some of her material was pretty route one as she reflected on her hot flush-filled "barren years" before going on to talk about her feral children. Nothing groundbreaking but the sheer force of personality won the audience over.

 

By contrast Birmingham-accented Craig Donaghty played on his fragility for giggles as well as the fact that with his 'resting lobster face' he looks like a gammon but is actually a sensitive, compassionate gay man. A calligraphy gag was particularly well-written and while he missed out on a placing he acquitted himself well on the night. 

 

If the standard of the first half was high, the post-interval half got higher, with the second leg kicking off with George Harvey setting up a series of running gags about his sexy calves. When you only have a few minutes to establish yourself it can be hard to make an impact but Harvey built up a fair bit of comic momentum, including a novel twist on the notion of having an Achilles heel. He was one of three acts to be runner-up.

 

Oro Rose is clearly going places, having already featured in the So You Think You're Funny? final in Edinburgh. There was an appealing Chloe Petts vibe to Rose, who talked about having both "woman-y" and blokey tendencies - blocking the sink with hair and not being bothered to clean it. Despite comparisons it was a distinctive set with a neat closing visual pay-off that probably helped Rose secure a shared runner-up spot. 

 

Next up was arguably the most conventional, but stardom-ready act of the night. Michael Campuzano had an easy-going cheery personality and a quick selling point, being half English, half Spanish – why on earth, he wondered, did his dad swap the delights of Madrid for...Crawley? When not doing stand-up he works as a bin man, which also gave him some  strong relatable material. A couple of years ago Jack Skipper was a runner-up here and has been on the current series of Live at ther Apollo. Campuzano seems set on a similar trajectory - in fact he has already gone one better than Skipper, winning this year's competition.

 

Shannon Ong got some pre-emptive early gags in about how people are fast to make judgements based on appearance. Ong both subverted and played up various stereotypes, touching on anime, autism and being good at maths. There was an attractive nonchalence bordering on comedic arrogance here too, which helped Ong to share the runner-up spot. 

 

Last was Irishman Eoghan Collins (although many acts were Brighton-adjacent the competition is open to all newcomers with less than three years under their belt) who closed the night with a musical act, his brief guitar-backed numbers at times evoking both the pop satire of Flight of the Conchords and the lo-fi whimsy of David O'Doherty. References ranged from Mrs Brown's Boys to feminism and he certainly displayed an ear for a catchy number. Not placed but a fine way to end another impressive showcase for upcoming talent.