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. Littler claimed Van Veen essentially conceded at the end of the match, prompting the remark. The controversy began when Van Veen won a contentious match earlier in April, during which Littler became agitated after Van Veen turned towards him while throwing match darts in the deciding leg. Van Veen had 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 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 pointed out that as he walked back, he was still looking towards the crowd, and Van Veen had put his darts down, which Littler felt was unprofessional and disrespectful. He 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 mentioned that when Van Veen won, he congratulated him and picked up his darts, but felt there was no need for Van Veen to react the way he did.
Littler also expressed that there was no need for Van Veen to stare at him when he still had not thrown his three darts, and that he should have just focused on his game. Littler added that he was looking up at the TV, thinking Van Veen would not miss, and was doing a fist bump towards his girlfriend and her dad when the fans started screaming. Littler felt that Van Veen's reaction was unnecessary and that he should have just stepped back and thrown his last dart. Littler recently had his worst televised average in Brighton, which he attributed to a lack of practice and not being in the right mindset.
Van Veen also lost his first match, and the two did not interact with each other, practicing in different rooms. Littler noted that this is normal and that everyone needs to move on from the incident.
He also mentioned that other incidents in darts have been more heated, citing arguments between Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney. Littler believes that the rivalry between him and Van Veen will draw more viewers and create a more exciting competition.