Littler Explains 'Cry Baby' Remark Aimed at Van Veen

Luke Littler has shed light on the reason behind his 'cry baby' comment directed at Gian van Veen, following their intense Premier League Darts match in Manchester. Littler claims Van Veen effectively conceded at the end of the match, prompting the remark. The controversy began when Van Veen won a disputed match, which saw Littler react angrily after Van Veen turned towards him while throwing match darts in a dramatic deciding leg. Van Veen stated that Littler was 'out of order' for celebrating towards the crowd, causing him to stare at Littler, who subsequently missed match darts and lost. However, Littler has now shared his side of the story, saying that as he walked back around, Van Veen put his darts down in front of him, which he felt was disrespectful. Littler believes Van Veen was the one not doing his job and being respectful, and that there was no need for him to put his darts down or stare at him when he still had not thrown his three darts. Littler also mentioned that when Van Veen won, he picked up his darts and congratulated him on the win. Littler recently produced his worst televised average, which he attributed to a lack of practice and not wanting to be there. He and Van Veen could potentially meet in the semi-finals in Rotterdam, and Littler thinks their rivalry will draw in more viewers. He pointed out that other incidents in darts have been more heated, citing arguments between Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney. Littler is focused on his game and believes that he and Van Veen will talk eventually, but for now, he is concentrating on his darts.