Littler Explains 'Cry Baby' Comment Directed at Van Veen

Luke Littler has shed light on the incident that led him to label Gian van Veen a 'cry baby' following their intense Premier League Darts match in Manchester. According to Littler, Van Veen essentially gave up towards the end of the match, prompting the comment. The controversy began when Van Veen won a disputed match earlier in April, during which Littler reacted angrily to Van Veen turning towards him while throwing match darts in the decisive leg. Van Veen had stated that Littler was 'out of order' for celebrating towards the crowd, which caused him to stare at Littler, resulting in Littler missing match darts at double and losing the contest. However, Littler has now shared his side of the story ahead of the Premier League Darts in Rotterdam, where the two could potentially meet in the semi-finals. Littler revealed that as he walked back, he was still looking towards the crowd, and Van Veen had put his darts down, which Littler felt was disrespectful. Littler stated, 'I think he's the one who's not doing his job, obviously being respectful. I think that's the first-ever time I've seen someone put their darts down in front of my face.' Littler also expressed that there was no need for Van Veen to stare at him when he still had not thrown his three darts. He added, 'From my point of view, I'm looking up at the TV, I'm just thinking in my head, he's not going to miss. Even if he gets a shot at the bullseye, Gian's one of the best bull hitters in the game.' Littler noted that when Van Veen came inside the double 15, he looked up, had a drink of water, and then did a little fist bump towards his girlfriend and her dad, which is when the fans started screaming. Littler felt that Van Veen had no need to look back and stare at him, as he still had a dart in hand. Littler recently produced his worst televised average, 83.94, in a 6-4 defeat to Stephen Bunting in Brighton. He attributed the poor performance to a lack of practice, stating, 'Thursday night didn't get to plan. I had the worst average. I knew it was pretty bad even when I got on stage I didn't want to be there. I just couldn't be bothered.' Van Veen also lost his first match, and the pair did not speak to each other, practicing in different rooms, which Littler considered normal. Littler pointed out that other incidents in darts have been more heated than his exchange with Van Veen, referencing arguments between Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney on stage. Littler believes that the rivalry between him and Van Veen will draw more viewers, saying, 'It gets more people watching it. Now people want to watch me and Gian. There's obviously going to be a rivalry. There's a rivalry week in, week out. He's beaten me a few times, I've beaten him a few times.'