Jan van Veen defeated Luke Humphries 11-10 in a dramatic European Championship match to win the first major trophy of his career.
The 23-year-old’s victory in Dortmund set him up for a showdown with Beau Greaves in the World Youth Championship final.
The Dutchman has made remarkable progress over the past 18 months and capped off a stellar season by celebrating his first televised ranking title in front of a record crowd at the Westfalenhalle.
“Crazy! Every time I win a title on stage for the first time, I tell my girlfriend I won’t cry, but here I am. I’m crying. It’s just an amazing feeling,” an emotional Van Veen said. “Winning 100 checkouts is amazing. What a night.”
The reigning world youth champion secured victory despite playing with a bloody thumb in his semi-final win over Michael van Gerwen.
Van Veen outperformed the world No. 1 Humphreys in the deciding match and achieved his 100th victory.
“I’m a very good loser, but this is hard to accept. I was hoping he would lose himself there eventually, but he didn’t,” Humphries said.
“He’s a great player and I kind of expected him to win a major, but it’s frustrating because everyone seems to have won their first major against me.
“I knew this was going to happen. He’s a great player, a Premier League player. I was disappointed.”
How did the finals unfold?
Van Veen is now a strong candidate to compete for a spot in the Premier League in 2026.
Humphries had a calm start, building a 4-1 lead, but Van Veen exploded in the next session, winning four of the next five legs with 13, 10, 12 and 13 darts to level the score at 5-5.
This ferocious burst also included a stunning 160 checkout, and the young Dutchman continued his attack with a clinical 121 and 91 combination, surging to an 8-6 advantage.
Van Veen made his third over-ton checkout of the contest with a 112 finish to take a 9-7 lead, then defied back-to-back legs from Humphries to regain control at 10-9.
Humphries was locked in a tussle with Van Veen, who was aiming for the win, but the world No. 1 survived two early match darts and sealed the deal with a skin-saving 85 finish on the bull.
Van Veen missed two darts at the top to take his 100-out shot at winning the title, but was given a chance to redeem himself later when Humphries sparred with his own championship dart at the top.
The 23-year-old made no mistakes on his return, finishing in the same top 100, albeit via double 16, and clinching the coveted title in dramatic style.
How Van Veen and Humphries reached the final…
Van Veen dominated four-time European champion Van Gerwen in the semi-finals.
Van Veen rebounded from a 7-5 deficit to dominate four-time champion Van Gerwen and qualify for his first major ranking final.
The 23-year-old overcame a close match and ended up winning with over two tons of checkouts (125 and 118) and an average of 55 percent in doubles.
Despite leading 5-0, Humphreys withstood a fierce fightback from Danny Knoppert and came back from an 8-6 deficit to beat him 11-8 and reach his first European Championship final.
How did the quarterfinals unfold on Sunday afternoon?
After trailing 3-2, Humphries dominated James Wade to advance to the semifinals.
Knoppert defeated up-and-comer Ricardo Pietrezzo 10-5 at home to advance to his third consecutive European Championship semi-final.
A 130-point finish was a highlight for “The Freeze,” who dominated the contest and finished with an average of 95.22 points, setting him up for a showdown with Humphries, who defeated Luke Littler’s conqueror James Wade.
Humphries trailed 3-2 at the first intermission, but ran eight straight legs to the finish line, finishing with a 120 and a 121 finish for a clean average of 100.82.
Van Veen averaged 101.4 hits, 7 hits under 180 seconds and reached the semi-finals for the second time in three tournaments with a convincing 10-5 victory over Ryan Joyce, while Van Gerwen averaged 99.5 hits, 4 hits under 180 seconds and over 3 tons (134 hits) to defeat Darryl Gurney 10-7 and advance to his second major semi-final in 2025. 124 and 120.
Which tournaments are coming up next on Sky Sports?
Luke Littler celebrates with the Eric Bristow Trophy after winning the Darts Grand Slam
The next TV major to be broadcast live on Sky Sports is the Grand Slam of Darts from November 8th to 16th.
The iconic tournament, held in Wolverhampton, will see 32 of the world’s top stars battle it out in the group and knockout stages for the Eric Bristow Trophy and £650,000 in prize money.
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Watch the best moments from the epic showdown between Littler and Gary Anderson in the Grand Slam of Darts semi-finals.
And now it’s time for the World Darts Championship, which will be held at Alexandra Palace from December 11th to January 3rd.
Sky Sports will once again be home to the Premier League, World Cup of Darts, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and World Darts Championship. Stream darts and other top sports now
