Gian van Veen reflects on disappointing defeatGian van Veen spoke up on the stage after his defeat and was left frustrated by his display but full of praise for his opponent.“The scoring maybe tonight wasn’t my greatest game in the whole tournament,” admitted Van Veen. “Luke wasn’t in the mood to give me any more chances. He played phenomenally. “I missed too many chances to make it an even game. That’s why he’s world number one by a margin now and back-to-back world champion.“Today I would have liked to lift up the title but I would have liked to give Luke a game and that’s what I didn’t do today. “I’m very proud of getting to the final, number three in the world now, Dutch number one. I’m very proud of myself but disappointed today.”(John Walton/PA Wire)Luke Baker3 January 2026 23:30Luke Littler cements status among darts greats with dominant World Championship win over Gian van VeenCome at the king, you best not miss. A record 128 players started the World Darts Championship on 11 December and seven took their shot at reigning champion Luke Littler along the way. Some fans turned on him too and his walk-ons were regularly accompanied by a smattering of noisy boos. Yet no one could knock him off his stride, not even rising star Gian van Veen, who was ripped limb from limb by a ruthless Littler on the Alexandra Palace stage as the champion retained his crown.At times it has seemed like the whole darts world is against him. This was a different Littler to the boy who triumphed 12 months ago against Michael van Gerwen on the same platform: a snarling, snorting Littler, hurling darts like he’d pinned the face of a sworn enemy to the board, ripping them out of the treble-20 bed after each of his 16 180s with feeling.His onslaught was stalled only twice, first by a wasp that attacked his head during the fifth set, and then when the board had to be changed after Van Veen smeared a spot of blood across single five in the latter stages. Minutes later he bled out in a brutal 7-1 thrashing.Read Lawrence Ostlere’s full report from Alexandra Palace:Luke Baker3 January 2026 22:50More from Luke LittlerHere’s some more reaction from Littler after that victory.“I was getting closer and closer to the winning line but you can’t think of it too much,” said Littler. “It [the trophy] is right next to you on stage but you’ve just got to keep going.“Not a chance [would I have imagined being here when I first started playing darts]. I…
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2026-01-03 22:51:30
