Luke Littler has revealed that Jan van Veen effectively gave up at the end of a heated Premier League darts match in Manchester earlier this month, leading him to call his opponent a “crybaby” for doing so.
Van Veen won a controversial match in early April, when Littler became furious when his opponent turned towards him when he threw a match dart in dramatic fashion.
The Dutchman told Sky Sports he glared at Littler, saying he was “not feeling well” as he was “celebrating to the crowd” and missed a match dart with his own double before losing the match.
But Littler spoke for the first time about the incident ahead of this week’s Premier League Darts in Rotterdam, live on Sky Sports from 6pm on Thursday, when they could face off in the semi-finals.
“What other people didn’t see was that when I came back and I was still looking that way (to the crowd), he put the dart down and no one saw it,” he told Online Darts.
“I think it’s him who obviously doesn’t do his job with respect. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone put a dart in front of my face.”
“I was like, ‘Why?’” And obviously I go in (double to win the game). I called him a crybaby because there was no need to. He didn’t need to put down the dart. When he won, I picked up the dart and said, “Good job, you win.” ”
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Highlights of the quarter-final match between Littler and Van Veen in Manchester
Littler also said there was no “need” to stare at Van Veen when he had not yet thrown three darts.
He added, “From my perspective, I’m just looking up at the TV and thinking in my head, ‘He’s not going to miss. Even if he takes the shot in the bullseye, Gian is one of the best bull hitters in the game.’
“When he came into Double 15, I looked up, took a sip of water, and then did a little fist pump to Faith (Littler’s girlfriend) and her father. Then the fans started screaming and I was like, ‘Come on,’ to them.
“But then there was no need for Gian to turn around and look at me. He still had the dart in his hand, so really he should just step back, look at the floor, and then throw the final dart.”
“So he was staring at me and got me…so I didn’t do it to him. I did it to Faith and her father and the whole crowd.”
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Van Veen explains his thoughts on the heated ending of the Premier League match against Littler
Littler plans to speak with Van Veen.
Littler recorded his lowest televised average (83.94) in a 6-4 loss to Stephen Bunting at Brighton in Premier League Darts last week.
The 18-year-old blamed his poor performance on lack of practice and said he “didn’t want to be there.”
“My schedule didn’t work out Thursday night. The average was terrible. I knew it was going to be pretty bad when I got on stage, but I didn’t want to be there. I couldn’t care less,” he said.
“I think I only had about 18 hours at home. I didn’t have much time to practice. Of course I practiced before the game, but it didn’t go as planned.”
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Wayne Mardle takes a closer look at the cause of the match’s fiery ending
Since Van Veen also lost his first game last Thursday, the two didn’t speak to each other and practiced in separate rooms, which Littler said is normal.
He said, “I showed up about two and a half hours before (the event) and people were excited about the practice room and I talked to security and it was like, ‘Who’s where?'” Gian, Luke, Johnny, Michael, there were four of us in that room and three in the other practice room, so it was a little more even out.
“Most practice rooms have two rooms and we’re all together. Everyone needs to forget about that for now. Me and Gian haven’t talked yet, but I’m sure we will. We can meet in the semi-finals in Rotterdam.”
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Littler reacted to Brighton crowd by shrugging his shoulders and pointing to his ears after hearing boos while walk-on
Littler believes other incidents at Darts were more heated than the exchange with Van Veen, pointing to an on-stage altercation between Gerwyn Price and Darryl Gurney.
“Now more people are watching. Now people want to see me and Gian. Obviously it’s going to be a rivalry. It’s going to be a rivalry week in and week out. He hit me a few times and I beat him a few times,” he said.
“Like all players, we have a rivalry with each other. I’m sure we’ll talk at some point. But other than that, I have to keep playing my darts.”
Who will win this year’s Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries is defending his title and the match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports every Thursday until May 28th. Stream darts and other top sports now.
