Jan van Veen is in the remarkable position of going into the World Darts Championship as seventh in the world, but is yet to win on the Alexandra Palace stage.
It was a remarkable year for the Dutchman, who won his first ranking title at The Players Championship 6 and then won his first major title at the European Championships against Luke Humphries.
He then won the World Youth Championship, defeating Beau Greaves 6-3 at Minehead.
This year has been a year in which he has climbed the rankings, but he has yet to show his form at the world championships.
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World Grand Prix Round 1 Luke Littler vs. Van Veen Highlights
In 2024, he lost to Man Rokryong in the first round, and in 2025, he participated as a seed but suffered a similar fate to Ricardo Pietrezko in the second round.
Now he hopes he can turn the confidence he gained into a real run in the biggest tournament, starting with Friday’s win over Cristo Reyes, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
“I’ve grown a lot as a player this year. In the first year I lost to Man Lok Leung which was heartbreaking. Last year I didn’t perform at all against Ricardo Pietrecko so I haven’t won a match there yet,” Van Veen said.
“But like I said, I’ve grown a lot and I’m a lot more confident this year. I’m really looking forward to getting back to Ally Pally and hopefully righting what I haven’t been able to do the last two years.”
“Hopefully we can have a great run there as well.”
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World Matchplay Van Veen vs. Humphries first round highlights
Van Veen obviously would have liked to have won a world championship earlier, but with a number of players in the rankings defending big prize money at Alexandra Palace, it is something he can use to his advantage.
On the other hand, this is a chance for him to add significant sums and move up from No. 7 in the world.
“Of course, I’m currently No. 7 in the world, so I think that gap is getting bigger and bigger. But a lot of players are guarding £50,000 or £100,000 around me in the rankings, and I’m not,” he added.
“Maybe there is even room to grow further and get some players in the rankings.
“I’m happy to be seventh, but if it’s 10th or 5th, it doesn’t really matter to me. I just want to play well and do well in the tournament. If I do that, the ranking will naturally improve.”
“You either click or you don’t.”
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Emma Payton gives us a little insight into what you can expect to see at this year’s World Darts Championship.
How is Van Veen working to ensure that happens at the World Championship?
He doesn’t think it’s a question he can answer with statistics, but how he feels on stage is more important, and he admits that getting the first one will be the hardest of all.
“That’s a difficult question. I don’t think it’s a hit or miss,” Van Veen said. “That’s how it feels for me.
“I just have to do what I’ve been doing all year and I think I’ll do well on that stage. As soon as I get that first win, it takes the pressure off my shoulders and I think I can hopefully get more wins.”
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Watch the best commentary moments from the Darts World Championship on Ally Pally.
“The first game is going to be the hardest. I hope that monkey gets off my back this year, but we’ll see what happens after that.”
“People will probably expect me to get into the last 16 or the quarter-finals, but for me it’s about winning the first game and getting through to Christmas and hopefully into the new year.
“This is a big tournament and there will be many weeks of darts, so I’m just setting myself small goals and hopefully I can achieve them.”
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live and exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407) until January 3rd. Stream darts and other top sports now.
