title: Tethys (mythology)

text: Tethys appears, identified by inscription (ΘΕΘΥΣ), as part of an illustration of the wedding of Peleus and Thetis on the early sixth-century BC Attic black-figure "Erskine" dinos by Sophilos (British Museum 1971.111–1.1). Accompanied by Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, Tethys follows close behind Oceanus at the end of a procession of gods invited to the wedding. Tethys is also conjectured to be represented in a similar illustration of the wedding of Peleus and Thetis depicted on the early sixth-century BC Attic black-figure François Vase (Florence 4209). Tethys probably also appeared as one of the gods fighting the Giants in the Gigantomachy frieze of the second-century BC Pergamon Altar. Only fragments of the figure remain: a part of a chiton below Oceanus' left arm and a hand clutching a large tree branch visible behind Oceanus' head.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: During the second to fourth centuries AD, Tethys—sometimes with Oceanus, sometimes alone—became a relatively frequent feature of mosaics decorating baths, pools, and triclinia in the Greek East, particularly in Antioch and its suburbs. Her identifying attributes are wings sprouting from her forehead, a rudder/oar, and a "ketos", a creature from Greek mythology with the head of a dragon and the body of a snake. The earliest of these mosaics, identified as Tethys, decorated a triclinium overlooking a pool, excavated from the House of the Calendar in Antioch, dated to shortly after AD 115 (Hatay Archaeology Museum 850). Tethys, reclining on the left, with Oceanus reclining on the right, has long hair, a winged forehead, and is nude to the waist with draped legs. A "ketos" twines around her raised right arm. Other mosaics of Tethys with Oceanus include Hatay Archaeology Museum 1013 (from the House of Menander, Daphne), Hatay Archaeology Museum 9095, and Baltimore Museum of Art 1937.126 (from the House of the Boat of Psyches: triclinium).


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: In other mosaics, Tethys appears without Oceanus. One of these is a fourth-century AD mosaic from a pool (probably a public bath) found at Antioch, now installed in Boston, Massachusetts at the Harvard Business School's Morgan Hall and formerly at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. (Dumbarton Oaks 76.43). Besides the Sophilos dinos, this is the only other representation of Tethys identified by inscription. Here Tethys, with a winged forehead, rises from the sea bare-shouldered, with long dark hair parted in the middle. A golden rudder rests against her right shoulder. Others include Hatay Archaeology Museum 9097, Shahba Museum ("in situ"), Baltimore Museum of Art 1937.118 (from the House of the Boat of Psyches: Room six), and Memorial Art Gallery 42.2.


title: Tethys (mythology)

text: Toward the end of the period represented by these mosaics, Tethys' iconography appears to merge with that of another sea goddess Thalassa, the Greek personification of the sea ("thalassa" being the Greek word for the sea). Such a transformation would be consistent with the frequent use of Tethys' name as a poetic reference to the sea in Roman poetry (see above).


title: All My Sons

text: All My Sons is a three-act play written in 1946 by Arthur Miller. It opened on Broadway at the Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1949, and ran for 328 performances. It was directed by Elia Kazan (to whom it is dedicated), produced by Kazan and Harold Clurman, and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. It starred Ed Begley, Beth Merrill, Arthur Kennedy, and Karl Malden and won both the Tony Award for Best Author and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play. The play was adapted for films in 1948 and 1987.


title: All My Sons

text: Miller wrote "All My Sons" after his first play "The Man Who Had All the Luck" failed on Broadway, lasting only four performances. Miller wrote "All My Sons" as a final attempt at writing a commercially successful play; he vowed to "find some other line of work" if the play did not find an audience.


title: All My Sons

text: "All My Sons" is based upon a true story, which Arthur Miller's then-mother-in-law pointed out in an Ohio newspaper. The news story described how in 1941–43 the Wright Aeronautical Corporation based in Ohio had conspired with army inspection officers to approve defective aircraft engines destined for military use. The story of defective engines had reached investigators working for Sen. Harry Truman's congressional investigative board after several Wright aircraft assembly workers informed on the company; they later testified under oath before Congress. In 1944, three Army Air Force officers, Lt. Col. Frank C. Greulich, Major Walter A. Ryan, and Major William Bruckmann were relieved of duty and later convicted of neglect of duty.


title: All My Sons

text: Henrik Ibsen's influence on Miller is evidenced from the Ibsen play "The Wild Duck", from where Miller took the idea of two partners in a business where one is forced to take moral and legal responsibility for the other. This is mirrored in "All My Sons". He also borrowed the idea of a character's idealism being the source of a problem.


title: All My Sons

text: The criticism of the American Dream, which lies at the heart of "All My Sons", was one reason why Arthur Miller was called to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee during the 1950s, when America was gripped by anti-communist sentiment. Miller sent a copy of the play to Elia Kazan who directed the original stage version of "All My Sons". Kazan was a former member of the Communist Party who shared Miller's left-wing views. However, their relationship was destroyed when Kazan gave names of suspected Communists to the House Un-American Activities Committee during the Red Scare.


title: All My Sons

text: Joe Keller — Joe, 60, was exonerated after being charged with knowingly shipping from his factory defective aircraft engine cylinder heads (for Curtiss P-40 fighters) during World War II, becoming (in his own words) "the guy who made 21 P-40s crash in Australia". For over three years he has placed the blame on his partner and former neighbor, Steve Deever, although he himself committed the crime. When the truth comes out, Joe justifies his actions by claiming that he did it for his family.


title: All My Sons

text: Kate Keller (Mother) — Kate, 50, knows that Joe is guilty but lives in denial while mourning for her younger son Larry, who has been "missing in action" for three years. She refuses to believe that Larry is dead and maintains that Ann Deever — who returns for a visit at the request of Larry's brother Chris — is still "Larry's girl" and also believes that he is coming back.


title: All My Sons

text: Chris Keller — Chris, 32, returned home from World War II two years before the play begins, disturbed by the realization that the world was continuing as if nothing had happened. He has summoned Ann Deever to the Keller house in order to ask her hand in marriage, but they're faced with the obstacle of Kate's unreasonable conviction that Larry will someday return. Chris idolizes his father, not knowing initially what he has done.


title: All My Sons

text: Ann Deever — Ann, 26, arrives at the Keller home having shunned her "guilty" father since his imprisonment. Throughout the play, Ann is often referred to as pretty, beautiful, and intelligent-looking and as "Annie". She had a relationship with Larry Keller before his


title: All My Sons

text: disappearance and has since moved on because she knows the truth of his fate. She hopes that the Kellers will consent to her marriage to Larry's brother, Chris, with whom she has corresponded by mail for two years. Ann is the truth-bearer in the play.


title: All My Sons

text: George Deever — George, 31, is Ann's older brother: a successful New York lawyer, WWII veteran, and a childhood friend of Chris's. He initially believed in his father's guilt, but upon visiting Steve in jail, realizes his innocence and becomes enraged at the Kellers for deceiving him. He returns to save his sister from her marriage to Chris, creating the catalyzing final events.


title: All My Sons

text: Dr. Jim Bayliss — Jim, 40, is a successful doctor, but is frustrated with the stifling domesticity of his life. He wants to become a medical researcher, but continues in his job as it pays the bills. He is a close friend to the Keller family and spends a lot of time in their backyard.


title: All My Sons

text: Sue Bayliss — Sue, 40, is Jim's wife: needling and dangerous, but affectionate. She too is a friend of the Keller family, but is secretly resentful of what she sees as Chris's bad idealistic influence on Jim. Sue confronts Ann about her resentment of Chris in a particularly volatile scene.


title: All My Sons

text: Frank Lubey — Frank, 33, was always one year ahead of the draft, so he never served in World War II, instead staying home to marry George's former sweetheart, Lydia. He draws up Larry's horoscope and tells Kate that Larry must still be alive, because the day he died was meant to be his "favorable day". This strengthens Kate's faith and makes it much harder for Ann to move on.


title: All My Sons

text: Lydia Lubey — Lydia, 27, was George's love interest before the war; after he went away, she married Frank and they soon had three children. She is a model of peaceful domesticity and lends a much-needed cheerful air to several moments of the play.


title: All My Sons

text: Bert — Bert, 8, is a little boy who lives in the neighborhood; he is friends with the Bayliss' son Tommy and frequently visits the Kellers' yard to play "jail" with Joe. He appears only twice in the play: the first time, his part seems relatively unimportant, but the second time his character is more important as he sparks a verbal attack from mother when mentioning "jail," which highlights Joe's secret.


title: All My Sons

text: Larry Keller — Larry has been MIA for some years at the start of the play. However, he has a significant effect on the play through his mother's insistence that he is still alive and his brother's love for Larry's childhood sweetheart, Ann. Comparisons are also made in the story between Larry and Chris; in particular, their father describes Larry as the more sensible one with a "head for business".


title: All My Sons

text: Steve Deever — George and Ann's father. Steve is sent to prison for shipping faulty aircraft parts—a crime that not only he but also the exonerated Keller committed.


title: All My Sons

text: The play starts in the middle of the action, abruptly. In August 1946, Joe Keller, a self-made businessman, and his wife Kate are visited by a neighbor, Frank. At Kate's request, Frank is trying to figure out the horoscope of the Kellers' missing son Larry, who disappeared three years earlier while serving in the military during World War II. There has been a storm and the tree planted in Larry's honor has blown down during the month of his birth, making it seem that Larry is still alive. While Kate still believes Larry is coming back, the Kellers' other son, Chris, believes differently. Furthermore, Chris wishes to propose to Ann Deever, who was Larry's girlfriend at the time he went missing and who has been corresponding with Chris for two years. Joe and Kate react to this news with shock but are interrupted by Bert, the boy next door. He tattles to Joe and wants to see the "jail". In a game, Bert brings up the word "jail", making Kate react sharply. When Ann arrives, it is revealed that her father, Steve Deever, is in prison for selling cracked cylinder heads to the Air Force, causing the deaths of twenty-one pilots. Joe was his partner but was exonerated of the crime. Ann admits that neither she nor her brother keeps in touch with their father any more and wonders aloud whether a faulty engine was responsible for Larry's death. After a heated argument, Chris breaks in and later proposes to Ann, who accepts. Chris also reveals that while leading a company he lost all his men and is experiencing survivor's guilt. Meanwhile, Joe receives a phone call from George, Ann's brother, who is coming there to settle something.


title: All My Sons

text: Although Chris and Ann have become engaged, Chris avoids telling his mother. Their next door neighbor Sue emerges, revealing that everyone on the block thinks Joe is equally guilty of the crime of supplying faulty aircraft engines. Shortly afterwards, George Deever arrives and reveals that he has just visited the prison to see his father Steve. The latter has confirmed that Joe told him by phone to "weld up and paint over" the cracked cylinders and to send them out, and later gave a false promise to Steve that he would account for the shipment on the day of arrest. George insists his sister Ann cannot marry Chris Keller, son of the man who destroyed the Deevers. Meanwhile, Frank reveals his horoscope, implying that Larry is alive, which is just what Kate wants to hear. Joe maintains that on the fateful day of dispatch, the flu laid him up, but Kate says that Joe has not been sick in fifteen years. Despite George's protests, Ann sends him away.


title: All My Sons

text: When Kate claims to Chris (who is still intent on marrying Ann) that moving on from Larry will be forsaking Joe as a murderer, Chris concludes that George was right. Joe, out of excuses, explains that he sent out the cracked airheads to avoid closure of the business, intending to notify the base later that they needed repairs. However, when the fleet crashed and made headlines, he lied to Steve and abandoned him at the factory to be arrested. Chris cannot accept this explanation, and exclaims in despair that he is torn about what to do about his father now.


title: All My Sons

text: Chris has left home. Reluctantly accepting the accusations against her husband, Kate says that, should Chris return, Joe must express willingness to go to prison in the hope that Chris will relent. As he only sought to make money at the insistence of his family, Joe is adamant that their relationship is above the law. Soon after, Ann emerges and expresses her intention to leave with Chris regardless of Kate's disdain. When Kate angrily refuses again, Ann reveals to Kate a letter from Larry. She had not wanted to share it, but knows that Kate must face reality. Chris returns, and is torn about whether to turn Joe in to the authorities, knowing it doesn't erase the death of his fellow soldiers or absolve the world of its natural merciless state.


title: All My Sons

text: When Joe returns and excuses his guilt on account of his life's accomplishments, his son wearily responds, "I know you're no worse than other men, but I thought you were better. I never saw you as a man ... I saw you as my father." Finally, the letter, read by Chris, reveals that because of his father's guilt, Larry planned to commit suicide. With this final blow, Joe finally agrees to turn himself in, saying of Larry, "Sure, he was my son. But I think to him they were all my sons. And I guess they were, I guess they were". Joe goes inside to get his coat, and kills himself with a gunshot off stage. At the end, when Chris expresses remorse in spite of his resolve, Kate tells him not to blame himself and to move on with his life.


title: All My Sons

text: The precise dates of events in the play are unclear. However it is possible to construct a timeline of "All My Sons" using the dialogue. The action takes place in August 1946, in the Midwestern United States with the main story taking place on a Sunday morning.


title: All My Sons

text: In his "Collected Plays", Miller commented on his feelings on watching an audience's reaction to a performance of his first successful play:


title: All My Sons

text: The success of a play, especially one's first success, is somewhat like pushing against a door which suddenly opens from the other side. One may fall on one's face or not, but certainly a new room is opened that was always securely shut until then. For myself, the experience was invigorating. It made it possible to dream of daring more and risking more. The audience sat in silence before the unwinding of "All My Sons" and gasped when they should have, and I tasted that power which is reserved, I imagine, for playwrights, which is to know that by one's invention a mass of strangers has been publicly transfixed.


title: All My Sons

text: In 1987, the Broadway revival of "All My Sons" won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play starring Richard Kiley (Tony Award nominee for Best Actor in a Play), Joyce Ebert, Jamey Sheridan (Tony Award nominee for Best Featured Actor in a Play) and Jayne Atkinson. It was produced by Jay H. Fuchs and Steven Warnick in association with Charles Patsos. It was originally produced by The Long Wharf Theatre (M. Edgar Rosenblum, executive director, Arvin Brown, artistic director). The production was directed by Arvin Brown, scenic design by Hugh Landwehr, costume design by Bill Walker, and lighting design by Ronald Wallace. It opened on April 22, 1987, at the John Golden Theatre and closed May 17, 1987.


title: All My Sons

text: In the 2000–2003 season, it was staged by the management of Burçin Oraloğlu at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality City Theaters. The characters were played by Erhan Abir (Joe), Celile Toyon (Kate), Burak Davutoğlu (Chris Keller), and Aslı Seçkin (Ann).


title: All My Sons

text: A Broadway revival began previews at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on September 18, 2008, and officially opened on October 16, 2008. The limited engagement ran through until January 4, 2009. The production starred John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Patrick Wilson, and Katie Holmes, in her Broadway debut. The other featured actors were Becky Ann Baker, Christian Camargo, Jordan Gelber, Danielle Ferland, Damian Young, and Michael D'Addario. It was directed by Simon McBurney. The creative team consisted of scenic and costume design by Tom Pye, lighting design by Paul Anderson, sound design by Christopher Shutt and Carolyn Downing, projection design by Finn Ross, and wig and hair design by Paul Huntley.


title: All My Sons

text: McBurney's direction of "All My Sons" grew out of a meeting with Arthur Miller in 2001, shortly after the playwright saw the New York premiere of "Mnemonic". Miller's daughter, Rebecca Miller, asked McBurney to direct the play.


title: All My Sons

text: Some controversy surrounded the production, as the internet group Anonymous staged an anti-Scientology protest at the first night of preview performances in New York City (due to cast member Katie Holmes). The cast dedicated their performance on September 27 to the actor Paul Newman, who died the day before.


title: All My Sons

text: David Suchet and Zoë Wanamaker (both stars of the British TV series "Agatha Christie's Poirot") starred in a revival production at the Apollo Theatre in London's West End. Suchet played Joe Keller and Wanamaker played his wife Kate. The production also featured Jemima Rooper as Ann Deever and Stephen Campbell Moore as Chris Keller. The show ran from May until September 11, 2010; one performance was captured live and can be viewed online.


title: All My Sons

text: Michael Buffong, the artistic director of Talawa Theatre Company, directed the play at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. It starred Don Warrington as Joe Keller, Doña Croll as Kate Keller, Chike Okonkwo as Chris Keller, Kemi-Bo Jacobs as Ann Deever and Simon Coombs as George Deever.


title: All My Sons

text: Ray Shell and Doña Croll led this revival by Talawa Theatre Company for a national tour of the UK. Shell played Joe Keller and Croll played his wife Kate. The production also featured Kemi-Bo Jacobs as Ann Deever and Leemore Marrett Jr as Chris Keller. The tour started in February and ran until April 25, 2015.


title: All My Sons

text: Fiona Buffini directed a production of "All My Sons" for Nottingham Playhouse. The production ran from October 6, 2017, to October 21, 2017. The cast featured Sean Chapman (Joe Keller), Cary Crankson (Chris Keller) and Caroline Loncq (Kate Keller).


title: All My Sons

text: From May 28 to June 3, 2017 "All My Sons" was performed at The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre. Joe Keller was played by Richard Self and Kate Keller by Jennifer Sims.


title: All My Sons

text: In April, May, and June 2019, Sally Field and Bill Pullman starred in a revival at the Old Vic Theatre alongside Jenna Coleman and Colin Morgan. The production was directed by Jeremy Herrin. On May 14, 2019, National Theatre Live live-streamed a performance to cinemas across the UK and into other countries; due to the competing American production (see below), streaming in North America was postponed until January 2020.


title: All My Sons

text: A Broadway revival presented by the Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre began previews on April 4, 2019, and officially opened on April 22, starring Tracy Letts (Joe), Annette Bening (Kate), Benjamin Walker (Chris) and Monte Greene (Bert). The production was originally to be directed by Gregory Mosher, but after a casting dispute between Mosher and the estate of Arthur Miller he was replaced by Jack O'Brien. The production closed on June 30, 2019. This production received three 2019 Tony Award nominations: Best Revival of a Play, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (Bening), and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play (Walker).


title: All My Sons

text: "All My Sons" was first adapted into a film in 1948. Edward G. Robinson played Joe Keller. It was directed by Irving Reis and gained two award nominations, Best Written American Drama and The Robert Meltzer Award for the film's co-writer Chester Erskine. In the film, Steve Deever is renamed Herbert Deever, and makes an onscreen appearance, played by actor Frank Conroy.


title: All My Sons

text: In 1950, Lux Radio Theater broadcast a radio play of "All My Sons" with Burt Lancaster as Joe. The play was adapted by S. H. Barnett and, in an interesting twist, featured the character of Steve Deever in a speaking role.


title: All My Sons

text: In 1958, the play was adapted for British television by Stanley Mann and directed by Cliff Owen. This production starred Albert Dekker as Joe Keller, Megs Jenkins as Kate Keller, Patrick McGoohan as Chris Keller and Betta St. John as Ann Deever.


title: All My Sons

text: In 1987, "All My Sons" was made into a made-for-TV film. This version is more faithful to Arthur Miller's original play than the 1948 film version. The main roles are James Whitmore as Joe Keller, Aidan Quinn as Chris Keller, Michael Learned as Kate Keller and Joan Allen as Ann Deever. Direction was by Jack O'Brien. Unlike the 1948 version, this version refers to George's father as Steve as in the play rather than Herb or Herbert.


title: All My Sons

text: In 1998, L.A. Theatre Works made a studio-based full-cast production for radio broadcast on Voice of America and NPR. The play starred Julie Harris as Kate Keller, James Farentino as Joe Keller and Arye Gross as Chris Keller.


title: The Highwomen

text: The Highwomen is an American country music supergroup composed of Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires, formed in 2019. The group's self-titled debut album was released on September 6, 2019, by Elektra Records and was produced by Dave Cobb.


title: The Highwomen

text: In 2016, when Shires was finishing her record, "My Piece of Land", in music producer Dave Cobb's studio, Shires had an idea to create a female country supergroup in homage to the legendary Highwaymen country supergroup (consisting of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson). At the same time, the lack of representation of women artists on country music radio and at country music festivals had been publicly discussed by many, influenced by the Me Too movement and journalists like Marissa Moss. While on tour in her van, listening to country radio, Shires kept a running list of artists and noticed that there were few women. When she called to request they play more women artists, she was directed to a Facebook page lottery system. Cobb recommended Shires call Carlile, whom she didn't know. Carlile thought it would be fun, and would be an interesting creative project.


title: The Highwomen

text: The Highwomen project was widely hinted at by Carlile, Morris and Shires before it was officially announced on April 6, 2019. With the name paying homage to The Highwaymen, the Highwomen were originally intended to leave the fourth spot in their line-up vacant to allow other female collaborators to join them, with Chely Wright, Courtney Marie Andrews, Margo Price, Janelle Monae and Sheryl Crow mentioned as potential guests. The band, who jokingly refer to the collaboration as a pirate ship experience, said that they see the project as an incubator project that highlights mentorship and support of fellow women artists.


title: The Highwomen

text: Morris hadn't worked with Cobb before, and remarked on how much she liked tracking live. The band recorded live vocals, live band, harmonies in unison, where the musicians were recording together live in an organic environment at historic RCA Studio A, which Cobb now owns. As part of the experience, some of the members got matching Highwomen tattoos.


title: The Highwomen

text: The group made their live debut on April 1, 2019 at Loretta Lynn's 87th birthday concert held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. There, Natalie Hemby was officially revealed as the final member and the quartet performed "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels". Their debut single, "Redesigning Women", and its associated music video featuring female artists including Tanya Tucker, Cam, Lauren Alaina, Cassadee Pope and Wynonna Judd was released on 19 July 2019, with their self-titled debut album (set for release on September 6) becoming available for pre-order on the same day. The song was promoted by country singer Dierks Bentley who released a comedic reading of the lyrics to his YouTube Channel which received praise from Carlile and Morris. Their second single, "Crowded Table", written by band member Hemby and Lori McKenna, was released on July 26, 2019.


title: The Highwomen

text: In July 2019, the Highwomen performed their first ever full live set at the 60th annual Newport Folk Festival, previewing songs from their upcoming album including "If She Ever Leaves Me", written by Shires, her husband Jason Isbell and Chris Thompkins. With Carlile on lead vocals, Isbell described it as "the first gay country song" which elicited applause from the audience. Other songs performed included "My Only Child", an ode to "suburban moms" performed by Hemby who wrote the track with Shires and Miranda Lambert, "Loose Change", a nod to 70s country written by Morris, Daniel Layus of Augustana, and Maggie Chapman, featuring Morris on lead vocals and "Cocktail and a Song" which was written solely by Shires in honor of her father. Carlile later invited the rest of the Highwomen to join her during her headlining set where, as they originally intended, the group performed alongside other female artists including Amy Ray, Courtney Marie Andrews, Dolly Parton, Jade Bird, Judy Collins, Linda Perry, Lucy Dacus, Our Native Daughters, Sheryl Crow, The First Ladies of Bluegrass, and Yola Carter. Shires said the plan was always to debut their music at Newport with Dolly Parton. The band wore custom suits by Manuel.


title: The Highwomen

text: Their cover of "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac from the soundtrack of the movie "The Kitchen" debuted during the film's first trailer and was officially released on August 2, 2019. The title track of their self-titled debut album was released on August 13, 2019. Written by Carlile and Shires with Jimmy Webb, the original writer of "Highwayman", the track that originally inspired the Highwomen's formation, it tells the story of various women throughout history and features guest vocals from British country soul singer Yola Carter and backing vocals from Sheryl Crow. The song is a classic answer song.


title: The Highwomen

text: The band recorded 15 songs, but only 12 tracks made it on the album. Songwriters included the aforementioned Jimmy Webb, Rodney Clawson, Maggie Chapman, Lori McKenna, Jason Isbell, Peter Levin, Miranda Lambert, Ray LaMontagne, among many others. Many of the songs flip gender roles, with additions of characters like refugee, preacher, Freedom Rider, and a healer, compared to the characters drawn by the Highwaymen songs.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Michael van Gerwen (; born 25 April 1989) is a Dutch professional darts player. He is currently ranked number 3 in the world, having been number 1 from 2014 to 2021. He is also a three-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2014, 2017 and 2019. Van Gerwen is regarded as one of the best players of all time.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen began playing darts at the age of 13. He won the 2006 World Masters and threw a televised nine-dart finish at the 2007 Masters of Darts, becoming the youngest player to do both, aged 17. However, after this initial burst onto the darting scene, van Gerwen struggled for consistent form until his breakthrough year in 2012. Improving from world number 38 at the start of 2012 to number four at the beginning of 2013, he won his first major PDC title at the World Grand Prix and reached the final at the 2013 World Championship. In 2014, at the age of 24, van Gerwen became the youngest winner of the PDC World Championship, a record he still holds, as well as being one of only five players to win it more than once. He also holds the record for the highest three-dart average in a televised darts match, with 123.4.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: He dominated darts in subsequent years, winning 18 tournaments in 2015 and 25 in 2016. Van Gerwen is the second most successful player in PDC history, behind Phil Taylor. He has won the most PDC Pro Tour events, winning 84 as of July 2022.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Michael van Gerwen was born on 25 April 1989 in Boxtel in the Netherlands. He played football as a defender until he was 12 and began playing darts regularly at 13. He reached the final of the Primus Masters Youth event at the age of 14 in 2003. He then started to amass youth titles in 2005 including the German Open, German Gold Cup, Norway Open, Northern Ireland Open, Swedish Open and the Dutch National Youth Championship; which he also defended in 2006. He also won the Men's events in the Norway and Northern Ireland Opens in the same year that he took the youth titles. Before he became a professional darts player, he worked as a tiler.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen picked up several Open titles and rose up the BDO/WDF World Rankings having climbed to third before his 18th birthday. He reached the semi-finals of the Bavaria World Darts Trophy in 2006. Despite losing to Martin Adams, the Dutch youngster came within one dart of the perfect nine-dart finish, just missing double twelve. He did manage the highest possible checkout of 170 during the tournament.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: He managed to eclipse that performance at the 2006 Winmau World Masters by becoming the youngest ever champion. Having trailed 1–4 and 2–5 to Adams, he came back to win the title and take Eric Bristow's record as the youngest ever winner at the age of 17 years and 174 days.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: His early career success led to speculation that he would join the other professional circuit of darts, the Professional Darts Corporation. However, during the 2006 World Darts Trophy, van Gerwen held a press conference to make it clear that he wanted to stay with the BDO/WDF. He also finished top of the DDF (Dutch Darts Federation) Rankings, which would have secured him a place at the PDC World Championship, if he chose to accept. He had already committed to playing at Lakeside, so the place went to Rico Vonck, who finished second in the rankings.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen was the bookmakers' pre-tournament favourite to win the 2007 Lakeside World title, but his hopes were ended in the first round by Gary Robson. On the night of the 2007 BDO World Championship final, it was announced on Dutch television that Van Gerwen, along with Jelle Klaasen and Vincent van der Voort, would be switching to the Professional Darts Corporation.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen started at 88 in the PDC World Rankings. Although he was a BDO player he was eligible for certain PDC events in his home country, even before he switched to the PDC. This included the Open Holland in 2006, in which he took the title. He made his PDC debut on 20 January at the non-televised Stan James Players Championships in Gibraltar and beat Andy Hamilton before losing in the last 16 to fellow countryman Roland Scholten. In the second Players Championship the following day, he beat Raymond van Barneveld in the early rounds only to lose to Alan Warriner-Little in the quarter-finals. He followed up his victory over van Barneveld by beating 13 times World Champion Phil Taylor by 3 sets to 0 on the opening night of the Masters of Darts tournament. All three sets went to a deciding leg which van Gerwen clinched with 14, 12 and 12 darts. He went on to reach the semi-final of the tournament and achieved a perfect nine-dart finish against van Barneveld, but lost the match.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: His televised PDC debut came at the 2007 UK Open, where he lost in the last 32 to Colin Osborne. He failed to qualify for the 2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic and was defeated in round two of the World Matchplay in Blackpool by Ronnie Baxter 12–14, having been one leg from victory at 12–10. His first PDC World Championship saw him paired with Phil Taylor in 2008's first round; notably, he had one dart at double 12 to win the match and knock out the 13 time world champion. It would have ended Taylor's phenomenal record of reaching every PDC World Championship Final. Wayne Mardle did end Taylor's run in that year's quarter-finals.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen ended his long wait for a tournament victory by beating his Dutch compatriot Vincent van der Voort 6–3 in the final of the Players Championship in Taunton on 11 April 2009 and earned him £6,000 towards the Order of Merit. Van Gerwen was defeated 6–4 by Arron Monk in the final of the inaugural PDC Under-21 World Championship during the 2011 PDC World Championship.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: He made it to the last 16 of the PDC World Championship for the first time in the 2012 edition by beating Colin Osborne and Mervyn King. Van Gerwen lost nine out of the first ten legs in his last 16 game to trail 0–3 to Simon Whitlock, but produced an incredible comeback to level the match at 3–3. He couldn't maintain his form, however, as he lost all three legs in the deciding set to exit the tournament 3–4.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen was named Young Player of the Year at the PDC annual awards ceremony on 3 January 2012, for winning four PDC Unicorn Youth Tour events during 2011 and his World Championship run.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: In 2012, he won the second UK Open qualifier of the season, defeating Dave Chisnall in the final 6–1. In the UK Open itself he lost in the last 16 to Terry Jenkins. Van Gerwen topped the PDC Youth Tour Order of Merit going into the 2012 PDC World Youth Championship, but went on to lose in the final for a second consecutive year, this time against James Hubbard. Van Gerwen won the eighth Players Championship event in June after beating Simon Whitlock 6–1 in the final. At the World Matchplay, he won 5 legs in a row to record a 10–6 victory over Simon Whitlock in the first round, and then faced a last 16 encounter with Steve Beaton, which he won 13–9 while throwing the fourth nine-dart finish in the tournament's history in the tenth leg. Van Gerwen was 5–11 down in his quarter-final against James Wade, but produced a fightback to only trail 11–12 and then missed one dart to level the game. He went on to lose 13–16.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen's third title of the year came at the 11th Players Championship, where he defeated Ian White 6–1 in the final with a 107.85 average. Van Gerwen was involved in an exceptional match in the last 16 of the European Championship as he was defeated by compatriot Raymond van Barneveld 9–10, despite averaging 104. Another Players Championship success followed with a 6–5 victory over Robert Thornton.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: In October 2012, van Gerwen won his first PDC major title at the World Grand Prix. He came from behind to knock out Colin Lloyd 2–1 in the first round, and then beat an out of sorts Adrian Lewis 3–1 in the second. In the quarter-final against Andy Hamilton, he missed four darts to win 3–1, only for Hamilton to take out a 160 finish to force a decider. Van Gerwen maintained his composure and took the final set 3–2 and then heavily out-scored Wes Newton in the semi-finals in a 5–1 win. He played Mervyn King in the final, defeating him 6–4, after being 0–3 and 1–4 down. Van Gerwen afterwards described the win as the best day in his life and in claiming the £100,000 prize he rose to world number eight, overtaking van Barneveld as the highest placed Dutchman. He did not have to wait long for his sixth title of the year, as he won the following week's Players Championship averaging 113 against Jamie Caven in the semi-finals, before beating Nick Fullwell 6–3 in the final.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: In a Championship League game, van Gerwen averaged an incredible 121.86 whilst defeating Steve Beaton 6–0. He won six of his seven league matches to finish top of the table, but then lost 5–6 to the same opponent in the semi-finals. He soon returned to winning ways by taking another Players Championship title, coming back from 0–4 in the final against Ian White to triumph 6–5.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen won all three of his group games at the Grand Slam of Darts to top Group B and face Phil Taylor in the last 16, in a match billed as a clash between the current best two players in the world. There, van Gerwen ended a five-year, 15-game losing streak against Taylor to defeat him 10–5 with a 108.38 average in a performance he described as the best of his career. He played Scott Waites in the quarter-finals, who himself had already beaten Taylor in the tournament, and produced another superb display as he hit two 170 finishes and an average of 106.63 in a 16–12 win. He averaged over 100 once more to defeat Dean Winstanley 16–8 in the semi-finals, to set up a clash in the final against compatriot and five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld. Van Gerwen was never ahead in the final and couldn't quite match the heavy scoring and clinical finishing he had produced earlier in the tournament as he was beaten 14–16.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: His eighth tournament win of 2012 came at the 20th and final Players Championship, where he beat Taylor for the first time in a final and also beat reigning world champion Adrian Lewis in the semi-finals. He was 4–5 down to Taylor, but produced back-to-back finishes of 164 and 124 to win and in doing so finished third on the ProTour Order of Merit to qualify for the Finals. Van Gerwen went out of the Finals in the second round 8–10 to Andy Hamilton despite winning the first four legs of the match.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: After his exceptional year in 2012, van Gerwen entered the 2013 World Championship as the second favourite behind Phil Taylor. He saw off Paul Lim 3–0 in the first round to play Peter Wright in the second round, who described van Gerwen as "not good enough" before the match.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen was 0–2 down but stormed back by winning 12 of the next 14 legs to advance with a 4–2 win and then beat Colin Lloyd 4–1 in the third round to face reigning two-time world champion Adrian Lewis in the quarter-finals. The match was a classic as both players averaged over 100, with Lewis coming back from a set down four times to level the match at 4–4. In the deciding set, Lewis missed two darts at double top for the match, as van Gerwen stepped in to finish 83, 108 and double four in successive legs to seal the win and progress to the semi-final. At 3–1 up in his semi-final match against James Wade, van Gerwen hit a nine-dart finish. He almost repeated the feat in the very next leg, after hitting eight perfect darts before missing one dart at double 12 that would have seen him become the first player ever to hit back-to-back perfect legs. However, he lost the set and the next as Wade leveled the match, but van Gerwen's superior scoring power eventually told as he won the match 6–4. In his first World Championship final, he played fifteen-time winner Phil Taylor and led 2–0 and 4–2, but crucially missed two darts to lead 5–2. Taylor then rallied to win five successive sets to take the title 7–4. Van Gerwen's run in the tournament saw him climb to number four on the Order of Merit, which guaranteed his place in the Premier League for the first time.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: At the PDC awards dinner in January 2013, van Gerwen won three awards; Young Player of the Year, PDPA Player of the Year and Fans' Player of the Year. In his first World Cup of Darts, he partnered van Barneveld and the Dutch pair suffered a shock in the last 16 when they were beaten 3–5 by the Finnish duo of Jani Haavisto and Jarkko Komula. Van Gerwen won his first tournament of 2013 at the first UK Open Qualifier of the year with a 6–2 victory over Dave Chisnall in the final. He completed a weekend double a day later by defeating Brendan Dolan also by a 6–2 scoreline in the second Qualifier. The win saw van Gerwen replace Wade as the world number three. His run continued by taking the third event with a 6–2 win against Michael Smith. Van Gerwen's first defeat on the 2013 Pro Tour came a day later when Robert Thornton beat him 4–6 in the semi-finals of the fourth Qualifier. His unbeaten run stood at 29 matches until this defeat. Despite losing in the semi-finals of the European Darts Trophy to Paul Nicholson in April, van Gerwen replaced Adrian Lewis as the world number two. He reached another final at the fifth UK Open Qualifier, beating Phil Taylor 6–2 along the way, but lost 1–6 to Simon Whitlock. Van Gerwen bounced back a day later to win the sixth event which included a 112.67 average in a 6–1 win over Michael Smith in the semi-finals and a 6–5 defeat of Kim Huybrechts in the final. He also won the final event with a 6–0 ten-minute thrashing of Mervyn King in the final, meaning he had won five of the eight Qualifiers. His sixth title of the year came a week later at the second Players Championship by beating Stuart Kellett 6–1 in the final.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: In the 2013 Premier League, van Gerwen became the first player other than Phil Taylor to finish top of the league after Taylor had done it in all eight previous stagings of the event. He won 11, drew two and lost three of his 16 games, averaging over 100 in nine of them. He beat James Wade 8–4 in the semi-finals to face Taylor in the final. Van Gerwen was 2–5 down but then won five unanswered legs before Taylor stopped the rot by taking out a finish of 65. In the next leg, van Gerwen declined a dart at the bull when on a finish of 87 to set up 32, but Taylor stepped in to finish 160 to level the match at 7–7. However, van Gerwen began the 15th leg with a 180 and won two consecutive legs to move within one game of the title. He missed two darts at double eight to win 10–7, but with Taylor leaving 40 after 12 darts in the next, van Gerwen finished 132 on the bull to become only the fourth player to win the Premier League.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen's play continued as he won the European Darts Open in Düsseldorf, Germany, saving his best performance for the final where he beat Simon Whitlock 6–2 with an average of 106.68. Another title followed less than a week later as he won the non-ranking Dubai Darts Masters, taking out finishes of 170 and 164 during an 11–7 triumph over Raymond van Barneveld in the final. His 10th tournament win came in June at the Austrian Darts Open by beating Mervyn King 6–3 in the final. It was van Gerwen's fifth title in a row and he was on a run of 24 unbeaten games. He was the number one seed for the UK Open having earned £35,600 in the eight qualifying events, just over £25,000 ahead of Robert Thornton in second place. Van Gerwen stretched his unbeaten streak to 27 games before he met Taylor in the quarter-finals. Van Gerwen did not quite produce his best game as he was beaten 7–10.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: At the European Championship, van Gerwen beat Mervyn King and Jelle Klaasen both with 104 averages, but was defeated 8–11 by Lewis in the semi-finals. Lewis was also the victor when the two met at the same stage of the World Matchplay, beating van Gerwen 17–15. Van Gerwen overcame Lewis in the semi-finals of the Sydney Darts Masters 10–7, but was then defeated 10–3 in the final by Taylor. In the defence of his World Grand Prix title, van Gerwen swept past John Part 2–0 and van Barneveld 3–0 in 21 minutes to play Dave Chisnall in the quarter-finals. Van Gerwen came from 2–0 down to level the match but Chisnall halted his momentum by winning the final set by three legs to one. He qualified from Group 5 of the Championship League having lost in the final of two previous groups which included a nine-dart finish in a 6–5 loss to Terry Jenkins in Group 4.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: In the Winners Group, van Gerwen was the only player to beat Taylor and he finished second in the table by winning five of his seven games. In the semi-finals, he saw off Richie Burnett 6–2 to face Taylor in the final. Van Gerwen fell 5–0 down before winning three successive legs but had left himself too much to do and lost 6–3. He finished the year as the top seed for the Players Championship Finals having amassed £125,350 during the year in ProTour events, over £50,000 ahead of Chisnall in second place. He produced two superb comebacks in the event, the first coming in the second round when he took six legs in a row to see off Lewis 9–6. He produced the second in the final as from 6–3 down he hit a seven leg burst against Taylor and secured his second major title of the year with an 11–7 victory.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: In the 2014 World Championship, van Gerwen began with victories over qualifier Zoran Lerchbacher and Kevin McDine. He trailed Gary Anderson 3–1 in the third round, but came back to win 4–3. He then faced former BDO World Champion Mark Webster, whom he beat 5–3, to set up a semi-final meeting against Adrian Lewis.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen won with a 6–0 whitewash and an average of 103.02, having punished Lewis for a multitude of missed doubles during the match. In his second successive World Championship final, he faced Peter Wright and stormed into a 4–0 lead, before Wright took the next two sets. Van Gerwen made it 6–2, needing one set to win but his scoring and finishing then faltered, as Wright took the next two sets to make it 6–4. Van Gerwen took advantage of two missed darts from Wright in the deciding leg of the next set to win 7–4. He became the sixth different winner of the event and, at the age of 24, the youngest as well as jumping above Phil Taylor to become the new world number one. Later in the month, he won the ProTour Player of the Year, Fans' Player of the Year and PDC Player of the Year at the Annual Awards.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: On the opening night of the Premier League, van Gerwen registered the first ever whitewash over Taylor in the tournament's history, 7–0 in 13 minutes with an average of 109.59. He enjoyed a title success in his home country at the Dutch Darts Masters by beating Mervyn King in a high quality final where both players averaged over 107. A week later, he won the final UK Open Qualifier with a 6–0 whitewash over Michael Smith. At the UK Open, he was beaten 10–8 in the semi-finals by Terry Jenkins. Van Gerwen won his 20th title on the PDC tour in claiming the second Players Championship by beating Dean Winstanley 6–1. In April, Taylor won their reverse fixture in the Premier League 7–4 and was also the victor when the two met in the final of the German Darts Masters. He finished top of the Premier League table for the second year in a row, winning 11 of his 16 games, and then edged past Gary Anderson 8–7 in the semi-finals. From 5–5 in the final, Raymond van Barneveld took four successive legs and ended van Gerwen's Premier League reign with a 10–6 win. He defended his Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters title by seeing off Wright 11–7.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: At the World Cup of Darts, van Gerwen and van Barneveld produced a sensational 117.88 average in their doubles decider against Northern Ireland to whitewash them 4–0 and meet England's Taylor and Lewis in the final. Van Gerwen defeated Taylor 4–0 and van Barneveld recorded the same scoreline against Lewis. He went into his singles match versus Lewis knowing a win would earn the Dutch pair the title and he did so with a 4–2 success.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen played in his first World Matchplay final this year but couldn't match Taylor's fast start to the match as he trailed 7–1 and 11–2 and, despite a rally to pull back to 14–8, he was beaten 18–9. The loss left van Gerwen in tears on the stage afterwards. He returned to claim the inaugural Singapore Darts Masters with an 11–8 victory over Simon Whitlock. A week later he averaged an incredible 118.21 in beating Paul Nicholson 8–3 in the quarter-finals of the Perth Darts Masters and went on to reach the final where Taylor beat him 11–9. Van Gerwen also won the 14th Players Championship with a 6–4 victory over Michael Smith. A week later, they contested the final of the European Darts Trophy, with van Gerwen losing 6–5 having been 3–0 ahead. He lost in a deciding leg once more at the 15th Players Championship, to Justin Pipe.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: His second major title of the year came at the World Grand Prix as he edged a close final against James Wade 5–3 in sets. Seven days later, he beat Wade once more this time 6–2 in the final of the 18th Players Championship. He averaged 111 in eliminating Dave Chisnall 10–5 in the quarter-finals of the European Championship and then threw his fourth career televised nine-darter during an 11–6 semi-final victory over van Barneveld. Van Gerwen took the first five legs in the final against Terry Jenkins and never looked back as he sealed his sixth PDC major title 11–4. He was knocked out of the quarter-finals at the Grand Slam 16–10 by Kim Huybrechts and in the second round of the Players Championship Finals 10–7 by Terry Jenkins.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen reached the semi-finals of the 2015 World Championship, which included his then highest World Championship average of 105.26 in beating Robert Thornton in the quarters. He played Gary Anderson in the event for the second year in a row and once again trailed 3–1 before levelling at 3–3. However, he missed four darts to take the next set and instead saw his reign as world champion come to end with a 6–3 loss. Van Gerwen won the Masters by beating van Barneveld 11–6 in the final with an average of 112.49. He lost in the final of the first UK Open Qualifier 6–1 to Adrian Lewis, but atoned for this a day later by winning the second event by beating Vincent van der Voort 6–3. Van Gerwen also took the third event with a 6–1 triumph over James Wade which meant he had won 25 of 26 matches since the World Championship. He extended this to 30 out of 31 games when he won the German Darts Championship by defeating Anderson 6–2 in the final with an exceptional average of 117.94. Jelle Klaasen missed a total of ten match darts in the final of the fourth UK Open Qualifier to allow van Gerwen to win 6–5. A 31 consecutive game winning streak was ended by Terry Jenkins the next day.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: In the UK Open fifth round, he set his highest televised average of 114.91 during a 9–2 victory over Kim Huybrechts in which he had a 170 finish and missed one dart for a nine-darter in the final leg. He went on to win his first UK Open title with an 11–5 victory over Peter Wright in the final. He won his second European Tour event in a row at the Gibraltar Darts Trophy with a 6–3 success over Terry Jenkins and made it a trio of titles by seeing off John Henderson 6–5 at the German Darts Masters, which saw him become the second player ever to reach £1 million in prize money on the PDC Order of Merit, after Phil Taylor. He reset his highest televised average record to 116.90 in a 7–0 whitewash of James Wade in the Premier League. Van Gerwen continued to dominate the PDC circuit by claiming the fourth and sixth Players Championship events with 6–1 and 6–5 wins over Lewis and Wade respectively. A 6–6 draw with Dave Chisnall ensured he would finish top of the Premier League for the third year in a row. He averaged 105.15 during the 172 legs he played during the league phase. Van Gerwen won five legs in a row from 7–4 down to van Barneveld in the semi-finals which helped him win 10–8. He could only take out 32% of his doubles in the final against Anderson, including missing seven in one leg, which contributed to him losing 11–7. Van Gerwen maintained his unbeaten record in the Dubai Darts Masters as he took his third title in a row by recovering from 8–6 down in the final against Taylor to triumph 11–8. He stretched his unbeaten run to 20 matches in European Tour events as he claimed the Dutch Darts Masters by whitewashing Justin Pipe 6–0. Van Gerwen and van Barneveld were knocked out in the semi-finals of the World Cup in a doubles match against Scotland's Anderson and Wright.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen won his first World Matchplay title by beating James Wade 18–12. It saw him overtake Wade as the PDC's second most successful player with nine major tournament wins, but still a long way behind Taylor who leads with 79. Michael Smith defeated van Gerwen 6–2 in the final of the European Darts Trophy, but he took the European Darts Matchplay seven days later with a 6–4 success over Chisnall in the final. Van Gerwen hit 18 180s in the final of the World Grand Prix against Robert Thornton, but ultimately missed too many doubles to be edged out 5–4 in sets. He looked set to lose a second successive major final when he trailed Gary Anderson 10–7 at the European Championship, but won the next four legs without allowing the Scot a dart for the match to win 11–10. It marked the first time van Gerwen had retained a major title.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen was untroubled in reaching the final of the Grand Slam which included a 16–4 victory over Kim Huybrechts in the quarter-finals whilst averaging 111.05. In the final, he was 3–0 and 7–3 behind Taylor, but won six unanswered legs and went on to take the tournament with a 16–13 win. The title completed van Gerwen's set of winning all of the PDC's current majors during his career. In the final of the World Series of Darts Finals, van Gerwen came from 10–9 down to defeat Wright 11–10 with a 129 checkout and an 11-dart leg. He took his fourth televised title in a row at the Players Championship Finals with an 11–6 win over Adrian Lewis. It also ensured he had featured in every televised final since the World Championship at the start of the year.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: After needing a tie-break to beat René Eidams in the first round of the 2016 World Championship, Van Gerwen recorded 109.23, the fourth-highest average ever recorded in the event during a 4–0 whitewash over Darren Webster. In the third round, he took out a 135 finish to send his tie with van Barneveld to a deciding set. Van Barneveld went 2–0 up in legs before van Gerwen threw a 10-dart leg, but he missed one dart to level the game in the next leg allowing his Dutch rival to finish on 96 to knock him out. Van Gerwen's average of 105.78 was at the time the highest ever to lose a match in the history of the event. Phil Taylor missed seven match darts in the semi-finals of the Masters and van Gerwen took full advantage to eliminate him 11–10 and retained his title by easing past Dave Chisnall 11–6. In week four of the Premier League, van Gerwen broke the televised average record with 123.40 in a 7–1 win over Michael Smith. In the following round of fixtures, he averaged 116.67 in beating Peter Wright 7–2. A 7–5 win over Taylor saw van Gerwen top the final Premier League table for the fourth year in a row. He won his second Premier League title (his first being in 2013) with an 11–3 victory over Taylor in what was van Gerwen's fourth consecutive Premier League final. Taylor had led 2–1 but van Gerwen soon took control of proceedings and won ten of the following eleven legs to complete a resounding win.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen had won three of the six UK Open Qualifiers and in the fourth round of the main event he produced his fifth televised nine-dart finish whilst defeating Rob Cross 9–5. He also hit 170 finishes in the leg before and after the perfect leg. He recovered from 4–1 down to Taylor in the semi-finals to win 10–6 and, in a repeat of last year's final, bested Wright 11–4 to retain his title. Van Gerwen won his second consecutive World Matchplay title with a comfortable 18–10 win over Taylor. It was 15-time winner Taylor's first defeat in a Matchplay final and only his eighth defeat in the tournament since 1994. He did suffer an 11–5 loss to Taylor in the final of the inaugural Champions League of Darts, but then set a record average in a World Grand Prix final of 100.29 as he beat Anderson 5–2.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen claimed six of the ten European Tour events, five Players Championships and two World Series tournaments, as well as taking the main event of each of these tours, the European Championship (averaged 111.62 in an 11–1 victory over Mensur Suljović), the World Series of Darts (beat Peter Wright 11–9) and the Players Championship Finals (overcame Dave Chisnall 11–3).


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: He also retained his Grand Slam crown courtesy of seeing off James Wade 16–8 in the final. His domination of the PDC circuit saw him win a total of 25 titles and £1.5 million in 2016, with a match success rate of 91%.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen averaged over 100 in each of his four matches as he advanced to the semi-finals of the 2017 World Championship without facing a player in the top 20 on the Order of Merit. Raymond van Barneveld won the first set without reply in the semis, but van Gerwen then produced the greatest ever World Championship performance as he averaged a tournament record 114.05 (32 legs) in a 6–2 win. It beat Phil Taylor's previous best of 111.21 (23 legs) in the second round of the 2002 World Championship. In the last set, van Gerwen missed a dart at double 12 for a nine-darter. In the final, Gary Anderson left 28 to take a 3–1 lead, but van Gerwen finished 86 to snipe that set, leveling the match at 2–2. Van Gerwen ultimately took 12 of the next 14 legs to establish a 6–2 lead. He got over the line to take his second World Championship crown with a 7–3 win. With this victory, he held all seven PDC major ranking titles at the same time. 42 180s were thrown in the final, the most ever in a darts match and van Gerwen's average of 107.79 brought his average over the whole tournament to 106.32. The win cemented his number one ranking as he was over £1 million ahead of second placed Anderson.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen won his third successive Masters title by defeating Anderson 11–7 in the final, finishing with a 109.42 average. Van Gerwen threw two nine-darters during his third round 6–2 win over Ryan Murray at the fourth UK Open Qualifier and he would take the title by beating Anderson 6–3 in the decider. He could not defend his UK Open title because he was forced to withdraw from the event due to a back injury. In the 2017 edition of the Premier League, van Gerwen successfully defended his title, topping the table of the league stage once again by winning nine matches, drawing four and losing two. After overcoming Anderson 10–7 in the semi-final, he would go on to face Peter Wright in the final. The Scotsman was leading 7–2 but van Gerwen staged a remarkable comeback to level at 8–8. Wright then had the title for the taking at 10–9, but missed six consecutive match darts to allow van Gerwen to again level and a 12-dart leg against the throw gave the Dutchman his third Premier League title, with a tournament average of 104.76. At the World Cup, Netherlands secured their first title since 2014 by seeing off the Welsh pairing of Gerwyn Price and Mark Webster 3–1 in the final.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: At the 2017 World Matchplay in July, van Gerwen failed in his attempt to retain the title he won in 2016. He eased to wins over Stephen Bunting 10–4 and Simon Whitlock 11–3 but suffered a heavy 16–6 defeat at the hands of Phil Taylor in the quarter finals. At the Champions League of Darts in Cardiff, van Gerwen failed to get out of the group stages he lost his opening match 10–5 to Raymond van Barneveld. He then defeated Adrian Lewis 10–4 meaning he needed to win his final group game against Phil Taylor without losing 7 legs in the match. Van Gerwen went on to lose 10–9.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: At the 2017 World Grand Prix in October, the tournament in which van Gerwen claimed his maiden PDC Major televised title in 2012, van Gerwen suffered a surprise first round exit to Scotsman John Henderson 2 sets to 1 it marked the first time van Gerwen had lost in the opening round in the event since 2009 he was bidding to win the tournament for the fourth time in six years.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Following early exits in the Champions League and the World Grand Prix, van Gerwen went back to winning ways by claiming his 4th European Championship title by defeating Rob Cross 11–7. Notably in his semi-final clash with Kyle Anderson, van Gerwen was on the receiving end of a 9 darter and his Australian opponent had missed two match darts to progress to the final but the Dutchman prevailed, winning 11–10.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen's next tournament was the Grand Slam of Darts, winning all 3 of his group games to top Group A. He defeated Steve Lennon in the last 16 by a convincing 10–3 win. Van Gerwen followed this by defeating Rob Cross 16–13 in the quarter-finals, a 16–8 win over 6 time Grand Slam winner Phil Taylor in the semi-finals and a 16–12 win over Peter Wright in the final to claim his 3rd Grand Slam title.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen won his first two matches in the World Championship against Christian Kist and James Wilson respectively. In his third round match against Price, van Gerwen won 4–2 despite losing seven legs in a row. In the quarter-final, van Gerwen faced Raymond van Barneveld. Van Gerwen led 4 sets to 3 and was throwing first in set 8, but van Barneveld took out 84 in the fifth leg of that set after van Gerwen had missed one match dart at double 12. This clutch finish sent the match to a deciding set. With the ninth set level at 1 leg each, van Barneveld missed three darts at double 16 to move within one leg of the match, and van Gerwen stepped in to finish 96 to break. Van Gerwen held his throw in the subsequent leg to win the match 5–4. In the semi-final, van Gerwen faced World Championship debutant Rob Cross. The first eight sets went with throw, then van Gerwen broke to go 5–4 ahead. In set 10, with van Gerwen throwing first, he lost his throw to fall behind two legs to one. He then missed six darts to send the set into a fifth leg (In which he would have been throwing for the match), allowing Cross to step in to level the match at five sets apiece. The first four legs of the deciding set were shared to send the set into a tie-break. The next four legs went with throw (Although Cross did miss one match dart at the bullseye to win the set 4–2), then van Gerwen broke to go 5–4 up. He then missed five shots at a double to win the match, before Cross sent the match into a sudden death last leg. After Cross won the bull-off to gain the throw, he missed double 16 for a match-winning 140 checkout. This allowed van Gerwen one last gasp at a finish of 108. He got a shot at double 16, but couldn't take it, which was his sixth missed match dart. Cross put the match to rest by hitting double eight to win the sudden death last leg, stunning van Gerwen 6 sets to 5.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: His next televised tournament was the Masters, where he took his fourth consecutive win at the tournament beating his compatriot Raymond van Barneveld in the final with a 105 average, after earlier wins over Gary Anderson, James Wade and Kim Huybrechts. At the first Pro Tour event of 2018, UK Open Qualifier 1, he beat Michael Smith in the final, averaging 105 for the tournament. He took his hundredth PDC singles title at the next UK Open Qualifier with a win over Darren Webster in the final, becoming the second player to do so after Phil Taylor. He lost at the quarter final stage of the third qualifier to Smith, putting his earnings from the qualifiers over £20,000. Despite sitting out the final three qualifiers, his performances at the first three events was enough for him to top the UK Open Order of Merit and enter at the third round of the tournament. Drawn against Jeffrey de Zwaan, he lost 8–10 with a 96 average. This was the first time since 2012 he exited before the quarter final stage at the tournament, and the first time he lost his first match of a televised tournament since the World Grand Prix the year prior.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: After sitting out both Players Championship 3 and Players Championship 4, he returned to form with his third Players Championship of the year and sixth 2018 title overall with a 6–2 victory over Chris Dobey in Players Championship 5. On the following day, he lost to Jermaine Wattimena in Players Championship 6, his earliest loss since he was beaten by Vincent van der Voort at the same stage of Players Championship 19 in 2017.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: At the first European Tour event of 2018, the European Darts Open, he took his 21st European Tour title with an 8–7 victory over Peter Wright. Van Gerwen and Wright would play each other again in the final of the 2018 German Darts Grand Prix, with van Gerwen prevailing once again by a scoreline of 8–5. It was his 22nd European Tour title.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: After sitting out of Players Championships 7 and 8 he attempted to win his third European Tour title of the season but was beaten in the quarter-finals 2–6 by Ian White. He pulled out of the Austrian Open (the 4th European Tour event) but then returned to winning ways in Players Championship 9 by beating Scott Taylor 6–4 in the final. Van Gerwen played in the 10th Players Championship where he was beaten 4–6 by Jonny Clayton in the quarter-finals.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen won the European Darts Grand Prix, his 23rd European Tour title and his 10th title of the year that included wins over Dave Chisnall in quarter-finals by a scoreline of 6–4, a 7–0 whitewash over Michael Smith in the semi-finals and an 8–3 victory over James Wade in the final. The following week, he won his 11th title of the year (his 24th European Tour title) by winning his 5th consecutive Dutch Darts Masters by beating Steve Lennon 8–5 in the final. Notably, in his semi-final match with Daryl Gurney, van Gerwen trailed 2–6 as well as surviving 3 match darts but the Dutchman produced a comeback performance to knock out the Northern Irishman 7–6.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: His 12th title of the year followed shortly after on 17 May in winning the Premier League by beating Rob Cross 10–6 in the semi-finals and a comprehensive 11–4 victory over Michael Smith in the final with an average of 112.37, the highest ever average in a Premier League final. It was his 3rd consecutive Premier League title and his 4th Premier League title overall.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: The first World Series of Darts event of 2018, the German Masters, saw a loss to Dimitri Van Den Bergh in the quarter-finals. His 13th title of the year would follow shortly after in the World Cup of Darts with partner Raymond van Barneveld. They successfully defended their title for The Netherlands with a 3–1 victory over Scottish pairing Peter Wright and Gary Anderson. The following weekend saw him win his 14th title of the year and his 25th European Tour title with a victory in the Gibraltar Darts Trophy by beating Adrian Lewis 8–3 in the final with an average of over 108.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: 2 weeks later saw a surprising defeat to Brendan Dolan in round 3 of the Danish Open. The following week he was back to winning ways with his 15th title of the year and his 26th European Tour title in the European Matchplay with an 8–2 victory over William O'Connor in the final. He also threw the first nine-dart finish in over 5 years on the European Tour in his 2nd round match against Ryan Joyce.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen's reign as the US Masters and Shanghai Darts Masters champion would come to end as he suffered loses to James Wade 3–8 in the quarter finals and to Michael Smith 4–8 in the semi-finals respectively.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen's next televised tournament was the World Matchplay. Drawn against Jeffrey de Zwaan in the first round, van Gerwen lost 6–10 to his compatriot. It was van Gerwen's 2nd loss to de Zwaan following his previous defeat at the UK Open back in March.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen returned to the winning circle by claiming his first World Series of Darts title of 2018 by defeating compatriot Raymond van Barneveld 11–4 at the final of the Auckland Darts Masters final. It was van Gerwen's 16th title of 2018.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen lifted the 2018 World Grand Prix title, the fourth time he had won that title, with a 5–2 win over Peter Wright. He failed to retain the European Championship, World Series Finals and Grand Slam titles in 2018, and lost the final of the 2018 Players Championship Finals to Daryl Gurney.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen was top seed at the 2019 PDC World Darts Championship. He knocked Alan Tabern out in the second round despite having beer thrown at him during the walk on, before consecutive 4–1 victories over Max Hopp and former world champion Adrian Lewis. He beat Ryan Joyce 5–1 in the quarter-final to set up a semi-final with Gary Anderson. A dominant semi-final performance by the Dutchman saw him triumph 6–1 over Anderson, to reach the final against Michael Smith. He regained the world championship with a 7–3 win over Smith.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen kicked off the 2019 circuit with winning the 2019 Masters, defeating James Wade 11–5 in the final to secure his fifth consecutive Masters title. The next two weeks, van Gerwen won Players Championship 1 and 3, henceforth breaking Phil Taylor's ProTour title record.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: He retained his Premier League title yet again, beating Daryl Gurney 10–7 in the semifinals, and beating Rob Cross 11–5 in the final. The first two World Series events of 2019 did not go well for him, suffering an 8–6 defeat to Michael Smith in the quarterfinals of the 2019 US Darts Masters, and blowing a 5–1 lead to lose 6–5 to qualifier Martin Schindler in the first round of the 2019 German Darts Masters. Van Gerwen then continued his very poor run of form at the World Matchplay, losing 13–11 to Glen Durrant in the last 16. Van Gerwen once again failed to get out of the quarterfinals in the 2019 Brisbane Darts Masters, losing 8–5 to Gurney. He finally got back to winning ways in Melbourne and New Zealand, winning those finals by scores of 8–3 and 8–1 over Gurney and Van Barneveld respectively.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen retained his World Grand Prix title with a win over Dave Chisnall, and won the Champions League of Darts for the first time, recovering from three legs down to beat Peter Wright 11–10. He regained his Players Championship Finals title, beating Gerwyn Price in the final, and hitting the only televised nine-dart finish of the year, in the second round against Adrian Lewis.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen was again top seed at the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship. He easily reached the quarter-final, recovering from losing the first set to Jelle Klaasen in the second round to win, before consecutive 4–0 victories over Ricky Evans and former BDO World Champion Stephen Bunting. In the quarter-final, he triumphed over Darius Labanauskas, 5–2, to qualify for the semi-final for the seventh time in eight championships. There he beat Nathan Aspinall 6–3 to set up a final with Peter Wright. Van Gerwen was defeated in that final, 7–3.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: At the 2020 Masters, van Gerwen lost in the first round to Jonny Clayton, ending his run of five years as the tournament's champion, and a 20 match unbeaten run at the Marshall Arena. In March he won the UK Open for the third time, beating Gerwyn Price 11–9 in the final. In his run through to the final, he hit his seventh career televised nine-darter, against Daryl Gurney in the semi-finals. In November he won the Players Championship Finals for the 6th time, beating Mervyn King 11–10 in the final.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen opened up his 2021 PDC World Darts Championship campaign with a 3–1 win over Ryan Murray, averaging 108.98 points in the match. In the last 16, he battled back from 1–3 down to defeat Joe Cullen 4–3 and reach the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, he was whitewashed 0–5 by Dave Chisnall. This loss resulted in Van Gerwen dropping to number 2 in the world rankings, following Gerwyn Price's World Championship victory.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen then went on to lose in consecutive TV tournaments, losing in the Masters to Jonny Clayton and in the semi-finals of the UK Open to Luke Humphries. Van Gerwen then proceeded to top the Premier League but consequently went on to lose to eventual winner Jonny Clayton in the semi-finals.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen had another great run in the World Matchplay but was beaten in the semi-finals by eventual winner Peter Wright.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: In his 2022 PDC World Darts Championship opener, Van Gerwen beat Chas Barstow before withdrawing prior to his third-round match with Chris Dobey after testing positive for COVID-19. Van Gerwen reached the final of the World Matchplay for the first time in six years at the 2022 World Matchplay, where he defeated Gerwyn Price to win his third World Matchplay title, meaning that he had won at every PDC Premier Event that was held in 2022 at least three times.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Van Gerwen leans quite a lot forward on the oche and throws at a very fast pace and scores extremely heavily meaning he is able to build up momentum over his opponents in a matter of seconds. When he does make a mistake he is usually able to confine it to history and refocus on the next leg. His playing style is instinctive and natural. He is known to hit purple patches during matches, where he can instantly elevate his game to exceptionally high levels.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: He did so in winning the first three PDC major titles of his career, firstly in the 2012 Grand Prix final, where he came back from 1–4 down in sets to triumph 6–4 over Mervyn King, secondly in the 2013 Premier League final he came from 2–5 down to win five successive legs and eventually won 10–8, and thirdly winning seven consecutive legs against Phil Taylor in claiming the 2013 Players Championship Finals title.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: He is also capable of taking out big checkouts to win matches when his opponent is well placed to win the leg.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: The most striking examples of his ability to date include setting a televised average world record of 123.40 in the 2016 Premier League in a 7–1 victory over Michael Smith. Having started with four 11-dart legs or better in the first six legs, he missed double 18 three times for an average of over 130 which would have earned a shutout win had he found the double. He was also a double 12 away from hitting back-to-back nine-dart finishes in the 2013 World Championship semi-finals.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Five-time World Champion Eric Bristow has described him as fearless, and van Gerwen has said he is not scared of any player.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: He celebrates important visits to the board with sudden short-range headbutts and a bouncing double fist-pump. Such exuberant celebrations have created negative reactions among some of his fellow players, with 2004 World Masters winner Mervyn King calling it disrespectful. It has been suggested that consistency could be the only thing that will stop van Gerwen from dominating the sport for years to come.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: In August 2014, van Gerwen married his longtime girlfriend, Daphne Govers. They have a daughter born in August 2017 and a son born in April 2020.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: In December 2014, Sky Sports televised a one-hour documentary called "Mighty Mike" which charted his rise in darts as well as his life away from the sport. He is a supporter of the Dutch football club PSV Eindhoven.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: In May 2018, he was awarded the Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau Medal by his local Mayor on behalf of Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands.


title: Michael van Gerwen

text: Michael van Gerwen holds the highest televised average of 123.40 thrown in the 2016 Premier League against Michael Smith, getting a match dart for a 133.18 average in the seventh leg.


title: GraphQL

text: GraphQL is an open-source data query and manipulation language for APIs, and a runtime for fulfilling queries with existing data. GraphQL was developed internally by Facebook (now Meta) in 2012 before being publicly released in 2015. On 7 November 2018, the GraphQL project was moved from Facebook to the newly established GraphQL Foundation, hosted by the non-profit Linux Foundation. Since 2012, GraphQL's rise has closely followed the adoption timeline as set out by Lee Byron, GraphQL's creator. Byron's goal is to make GraphQL omnipresent across web platforms.


title: GraphQL

text: GraphQL provides an approach to developing web APIs and has been compared and contrasted with REST and other web service architectures. It allows clients to define the structure of the data required, and the same structure of the data is returned from the server. This prevents excessively large amounts of data from being returned, but can impede web caching of query results.


title: GraphQL

text: The flexibility and richness of the query language also adds complexity that may not be worthwhile for simple APIs.


title: GraphQL

text: Despite the name, GraphQL does not provide the richness of graph operations that one might find in a full-fledged graph query language such as SPARQL, or even in dialects of SQL that support transitive closure.


title: GraphQL

text: For example, a GraphQL interface that reports the parents of an individual cannot return, in a single query, the set of all their ancestors.


title: GraphQL

text: GraphQL consists of a type system, query language and execution semantics, static validation, and type introspection.


title: GraphQL

text: It supports reading, writing (mutating), and subscribing to changes to data (realtime updates – most commonly implemented using Websockets). GraphQL servers are available for multiple languages. The result of a single query is returned in JSON format.


title: GraphQL

text: GraphQL APIs can be tested by triggering different requests at the API endpoint, and verifying the correctness of the response. This may be done manually by developers, or automated with testing tools. Tests may also be generated automatically. For example, a request triggered by an existing test case can be mutated to produce a variant, and new requests may be produced through search-based techniques. GraphQL requests arriving at the API endpoint in production may also be used to generate test cases that detect errors in the implementation of the schema.


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: The 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 107th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, a knockout cup competition in American soccer. After the 2020 and 2021 competitions were suspended and ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Soccer Federation announced that the 2022 edition would run from March to mid-September of that year. The 2022 field features 103 clubs, 71 of them fully professional—both modern-era records.


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: On December 22, 2021, U.S. Soccer announced the final format for the 2022 tournament, with two major changes from prior editions. First, all eligible Division II and Division III professional teams will enter in the Second Round. Second, Major League Soccer will have its entry staggered: Seventeen MLS teams will enter in the Third Round, and the remaining eight teams (the four playing in the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League, and the next highest two teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences) will enter in the Round of 32.


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: For the first time since 2017, multiple leagues from the same division will compete in the Open Cup. USL League One, of Division III, will compete alongside teams from MLS Next Pro and the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). NISA was set to make its Open Cup debut in 2020, before that tournament was canceled; MLS Next Pro was established in 2021, and while primarily a developmental league for MLS teams, its independent clubs will be eligible for the Open Cup.


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: Atlanta United FC were the defending champions, having won the 2019 tournament, but were eliminated in the Round of 32 by Nashville SC.


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: Pro teams that are majority-owned or controlled by higher division professional clubs are barred from entering the competition. For this edition of the tournament, there are 21 such teams: Atlanta United 2 (USLC), LA Galaxy II (USLC), Loudoun United FC (USLC), New York Red Bulls II (USLC), and 17 out of 19 MLS Next Pro teams. The two MLS Next Pro teams entering are Rochester New York FC (independent club) and St. Louis City SC 2 (the club's senior team does not debut until the 2023 season).


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: A total of 35 states and the District of Columbia are represented by clubs in the U.S. Open Cup this year.


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: States without a team in the Open Cup: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: In the First round, teams (local, National Amateur Cup, NPSL, & USL2) were paired in a geographical manner, pitting teams closer together against each other. Once the First round pairings were made those pairings were matched with a Division II (USLC) or a Division III (MLS Next Pro, NISA, or USL1) team in a geographical manner for the Second round. Division II & III teams that remained unmatched were matched together, again geographically, avoiding any same-division matching (e.g., no II vs II or III vs III).


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: The complete draw for the First round, including match dates and times, was announced on February 2, 2022. Draws for the Second round were announced on February 11; match dates and times were announced on February 28.


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: The winners of the second round and the new entrants to the tournament were grouped geographically into groups of four (12 groups) or six (eight groups), depending on the distribution of teams after the Second Round. Division I (MLS) teams entering the tournament were spread among the groups as evenly as possible (groups of four: five groups with two and seven groups with one MLS team; groups of six: one group with three and seven groups with two MLS teams). All MLS teams faced a lower-division team. Random selection for each group determined the pairs. Instances where geographical fit didn't exist when creating groups was resolved by random selection.


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: The winners of the Third Round and the new entrants to the tournament were grouped geographically into groups of four (eight groups). Each group had one of the MLS teams entering this round. Random selection for each group determined the pairs. Instances where geographical fit didn't exist when creating groups was resolved by random selection. The draw for the Round of 32 took place on April 21.


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: The winners of the Round of 32 were grouped geographically into groups of four (four groups). Random selection for each group determined the pairs. The Round of 16/Quarter-final draw took place on May 12 at 8:30 PM EDT on Futbol Americas on ESPN+.


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: The Quarter-final winners were matched geographically to determine the pairings for the semi-final round. The draw to determine the home teams for the semi-finals and the final was held on June 23.


title: 2022 U.S. Open Cup

text: First Round matches were split between ESPN+ and U.S. Soccer's YouTube channel; all matches from the Second Round to the final will be broadcast on ESPN+. This is the final year of a four-year agreement between ESPN and U.S. Soccer to broadcast the tournament. Turner Sports / Bleacher Report will have the rights starting in 2023.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: Anthony L. Ray (born August 12, 1963), better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 1992 hit song "Baby Got Back", which peaked at number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: Anthony Ray was born on August 12, 1963, in Auburn, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, and grew up in Seattle's Central District. Growing up, Ray's mother worked as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at the King County Jail making six or seven dollars an hour. Ray was a fan of hip hop and started rhyming in the early 1980s.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: While living in the Bryant Manor apartments on 19th Ave and East Yesler Way, Anthony Ray started school at Roosevelt High School, near the University District, when the Seattle Public School District was in the throes of what would be a 21-year experiment to integrate the school system; Guns N' Roses member Duff McKagan and actress and Charmed star Rose McGowan also went there. Students were bused from their neighborhoods to schools at the other end of the city. From 1978, when the busing program started, to 1999, when it was shelved, minorities carried the burden of busing, piling onto buses from the South End and the Central Area that were headed for predominantly white schools in the North End.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: Ray said he knew that some North End residents didn't want black kids bused into their neighborhoods. But for him, the experience offered respite from the projects. "I’ve heard things like, 'Forced integration is not good,' 'I want my kid to be able to go to school in our community; that’s why we moved here' – all those things I totally understand," he said. "But from my perspective, I didn’t have the luxury of living in a neighborhood where a good school was. We didn’t make that kind of money. So from my perspective, it was the best thing that could have happened to me." A music teacher at Eckstein Middle School introduced Ray to the possibility of a music career. Before becoming a rapper, Ray at an early age was interested in electronics and CB radio, one of his early jobs was working at a pinball arcade servicing machines, during that time he also started to fix keyboards and other musical equipment. He still works with electronics as a hobby.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: Early on, Sir Mix-A-Lot had an ear and a passion for music. Soon after high school he began DJing parties at local community centers. By 1983 Mix-A-Lot had begun playing weekends regularly at the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club in South Seattle. Soon he moved locations and started throwing his parties at the Rotary Boys and Girls Club in the Central District. It was there that he met 'Nasty' Nes Rodriguez, a local radio DJ and host of Fresh Tracks, the West Coast's first rap radio show on Seattle station KKFX (K-Fox).


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: Sir Mix-a-Lot partnered with Nasty Nes and local businessman Ed Locke to found the Nastymix record label in 1983. The first song to gain popularity outside of Seattle was "Square Dance Rap" in 1986. Mix-a-Lot had originally decided to rap the entire song slow, then speed and pitch it up in post production, Mix later told Seattle Refined in 2018 that "I didn't want to rap, that's why I use this weird Smurf voice". After the song was picked up by DJs in clubs nationwide, he went touring in Florida, New York, and other states. While in Arizona, he noticed a street named Broadway with a restaurant named Dick's, just like Seattle. This gave him the idea to write his next hit "Posse on Broadway".


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: Mix-a-Lot's next hit, released in 1987, was the single "Posse on Broadway," whose title referred to Broadway in Seattle's Capitol Hill district. The song made the Top 100 but quickly disappeared, although it remains popular in the Seattle area for its references to many local landmarks.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: "Swass", Sir Mix-a-Lot's debut album, was released in 1988 with two other singles: "Square-Dance Rap" and "Iron Man", a rap metal track sampling from the Black Sabbath song of the same name, which was backed by the band Metal Church. In 1990, the Recording Industry Association of America certified "Swass" platinum.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: In 1991, Sir Mix-A-Lot signed to the Def American label, which also bought the rights to his first two albums, and released his third album "Mack Daddy" in 1992. The single "Baby Got Back" was a number-one hit that went double platinum and won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. MTV aired the music video for the song only after 9 PM because of "many, many, complaints."


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: In 1993, Sir Mix-a-Lot collaborated with Seattle-based grunge band Mudhoney for the song "Freak Momma" on the "Judgment Night" soundtrack.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: In 1994, he released "Chief Boot Knocka" and the album reached #69 on the Billboard 200 and #28 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Charts. The album featured the hit single "Put 'Em On The Glass." "Just Da Pimpin' in Me" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance but lost to "Let Me Ride" by Dr. Dre.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: When his 1996 album, "Return of the Bumpasaurus", was only given a low label promotion, leading to lackluster sales, Sir Mix-a-Lot left the American label. During the time off, he worked closely with another band, The Presidents of the United States of America under the group name "Subset" with a combination of rock and rap music, but nothing was ever officially released.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: Sir Mix-a-Lot signed with the independent label Artist Direct for his 2003 album "Daddy's Home" with "Big Johnson" as its lead single.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: In 2004, Sir Mix-a-Lot released a DVD entitled, “Shhhhh...Don’t tell ‘em That.” This feature by Image Entertainment offered a look at his unique career, released to celebrate the 2003 comeback album,”Daddy’s Home.”


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: In 2008, Sir Mix-a-Lot appeared on Adult Swim's "Robot Chicken" singing a song entitled, "Table Be Round". It was sung in the style of his famous song "Baby Got Back", but in reference to King Arthur's creation story of the Round Table. He also voiced politician Hans Blix and singer Stevie Wonder in the season 3 finale.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: In 2010, Sir Mix-a-Lot announced his next album, "Dun 4got About Mix". The lead single "Carz" was released to YouTube on 23 Nov 2010. By June 2011, the video had acquired over a million views, although no release date for the album has been set. In the same year, his "F.U.B.A.R. Remix" for the song "Conditions Of My Parole" appeared on Puscifer's remix album "All Re-Mixed Up".


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: In 2013, Sir Mix-a-Lot produced the album "Dream" for the urban rock band Ayron Jones and The Way. Mix-a-Lot opened their album release party at Neumos on November 2. Also in 2013, Sir Mix-a-Lot promoted the Washington State Lottery over the Christmas season, with advertisements featuring his music appearing on Spotify.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: On June 6, 2014, Sir Mix-a-Lot collaborated and performed with the Seattle Symphony on a new composition by Gabriel Prokofiev as part of the symphony's Sonic Evolution series of new orchestral pieces inspired by Seattle's music icons.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: In 2014, Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj released the single "Anaconda", which prominently featured samples from "Baby Got Back." Sir Mix-a-Lot praised both the artist and the song, calling it the "new and improved version" of "Baby Got Back."


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: In March 2016, Sir Mix-a-Lot collaborated with TNT and LK on the track and video, "Streets Don't Love Me".


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: From 2017 to 2019, Sir Mix-a-Lot hosted a morning radio show based in Seattle on Hot 103.7 FM. He owns multiple residences, including one in Auburn, Washington where he has continued to maintain a strong presence performing at small festivals across the country.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: In 1995 Sir Mix-A-Lot was the regular host of the short-lived UPN anthology drama series "The Watcher", in which, in 2000, he was quoted in Vibe magazine as saying "in retrospect, I wish I hadn't done (the show)"


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: Sir Mix-A-Lot provides narration and commentary in "Wheedle's Groove", a 2009 documentary about the Seattle 1960s and 70s funk and soul scene.


title: Sir Mix-a-Lot

text: In June 2018, a special on the DIY Network called "Sir Mix-A-Lot’s House Remix" was aired, which involved Mix-A-Lot buying and flipping a house in his hometown of Seattle.


title: Melvyn Douglas

text: Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy "Ninotchka" (1939) with Greta Garbo. Douglas later played mature and fatherly characters, as in his Academy Award-winning performances in "Hud" (1963) and "Being There" (1979) and his Academy Award–nominated performance in "I Never Sang for My Father" (1970). Douglas was one of 24 performers to win the Triple Crown of Acting. In the last few years of his life Douglas appeared in films with supernatural stories involving ghosts. Douglas appeared as "Senator Joseph Carmichael" in "The Changeling" in 1980 and "Ghost Story" in 1981 in his final completed film role.


title: Melvyn Douglas

text: Douglas was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Lena Priscilla (née Shackelford) and Edouard Gregory Hesselberg, a concert pianist and composer. His father was a Jewish emigrant from Riga, Latvia, then part of Russia. His mother, a native of Tennessee, was Protestant and a "Mayflower" descendant.


title: Melvyn Douglas

text: Douglas, in his autobiography, "See You at the Movies" (1987), wrote that he was unaware of his Jewish background until later in his youth: "I did not learn about the non-Christian part of my heritage until my early teens," as his parents preferred to hide his Jewish heritage. It was his aunts, on his father's side, who told him "the truth" when he was 14. He writes that he "admired them unstintingly"; and they in turn treated him like a son.


title: Melvyn Douglas

text: Though his father, a prominent concert pianist, taught music at a succession of colleges in the U.S. and Canada, Douglas never graduated from high school. He took the surname of his maternal grandmother and became known as Melvyn Douglas.


title: Melvyn Douglas

text: Douglas developed his acting skills in Shakespearean repertory while in his teens and with stock companies in Sioux City, Iowa, Evansville, Indiana, Madison, Wisconsin and Detroit, Michigan. He served in the United States Army in World War I. He established an outdoor theatre in Chicago. He had a long theatre, film and television career as a lead player, stretching from his 1930 Broadway role in "Tonight or Never" (opposite his future wife, Helen Gahagan) until just before his death. Douglas shared top billing with Boris Karloff and Charles Laughton in James Whale's sardonic horror classic "The Old Dark House" in 1932.


title: Melvyn Douglas

text: He was the hero in the 1932 horror film "The Vampire Bat" and the sophisticated leading man in 1935's "She Married Her Boss". He played opposite Joan Crawford in several films, most notably "A Woman's Face" (1941), and appeared opposite Greta Garbo in three films: "As You Desire Me" (1932), "Ninotchka" (1939) and Garbo's final film "Two-Faced Woman" (1941). One of his most sympathetic roles was as the belatedly attentive father in "Captains Courageous" (1937).


title: Melvyn Douglas

text: During World War II, Douglas served first as a director of the Arts Council in the Office of Civilian Defense, and he then again served in the United States Army rising to the rank of major. According to his granddaughter Illeana Douglas, it was in Burma when he first met his future "Being There" co-star Peter Sellers, who was in the Royal Air Force during the war. He returned to play more mature roles in "The Sea of Grass" and "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House". In 1959 he made his musical debut playing Captain Boyle in the ill-fated Marc Blitzstein musical "Juno", based on Seán O'Casey's "Juno and the Paycock".


title: Melvyn Douglas

text: From November 1952 to January 1953, Douglas starred in the DuMont detective show "Steve Randall" ("Hollywood Off Beat") which then moved to CBS. In the summer of 1953, he briefly hosted the DuMont game show "Blind Date". In the summer of 1959, Douglas hosted eleven original episodes of a CBS Western anthology television series called "Frontier Justice", a production of Dick Powell's Four Star Television.