World Darts Championship finalist Gian van Veen has alleged that he cares ‘little’ about what Luke Littler thinks of him following their tense exchange during the Premier League Darts in Manchester on Thursday.Van Veen missed a match dart in the deciding leg of their quarter-final match before turning to find Littler celebrating in front of the home crowd, with the world champion then gesturing angrily at his opponent as he turned back to the oche.
Littler then missed his chance to throw for the match and Van Veen did not allow him another visit as he wrapped up the quarter-final win – but not before Littler made a crying gesture to the crowd and then exchanged a brief handshake with his rival.
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Highlights of the Luke Littler’s quarter-final clash with Gian van Veen in the Premier League from Manchester.
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Luke Littler and Gian van Veen get heated in the final leg of their quarter-final in Manchester.
Van Veen, who lost his fourth nightly final of the campaign to Josh Rock, said after his opening win that Littler was a “bad loser” and that his conduct on the oche was “out of order”.On Thursday evening, 19-year-old Littler shared an image of Van Veen’s comments on his Instagram stories, adding three laughing emojis below.
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Wayne Mardle takes a closer look at what caused the fiery end to Luke Littler’s quarter-final match with Gian van Veen in the Premier League Darts from Manchester.
Speaking to Swedish streaming service Viaplay about the incident, Van Veen said: “No, we haven’t spoken.
“He hasn’t approached me either. I saw his reaction on social media. He thought it was funny.
“Well, I don’t think things will be very friendly between us anytime soon.”I’m here for myself. He’s a fantastic darter, the world No 1,…
2026-04-03 20:12:00
