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 effectively conceded at the end of the match, prompting the remark. The controversy began when Van Veen turned towards Littler while throwing match darts in the deciding leg, which Littler reacted to angrily.
Van Veen had previously stated that Littler was 'out of order' for celebrating towards the crowd, causing him to stare at Littler, who then missed match darts and lost. However, Littler has now shared his side of the story, revealing that Van Veen had put his darts down in front of him, which he deemed disrespectful. Littler believes Van Veen overreacted and that there was no need for him to stare or put his darts down.
He also stated that when Van Veen won, he congratulated him and picked up his own darts. Littler thinks the incident has been blown out of proportion and that other exchanges in darts have been more heated, citing arguments between Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney.
The young player is focusing on his game and is looking forward to the possibility of facing Van Veen again in the semi-finals in Rotterdam.