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. According to Littler, Van Veen essentially gave up towards the end of the match, prompting the remark. Van Veen had emerged victorious in a controversial match earlier in April, where Littler reacted angrily after Van Veen turned towards him while throwing match darts in a dramatic deciding leg. Van Veen had stated that Littler was 'out of order' for celebrating towards the crowd, which led him to stare at Littler. However, Littler has now shared his perspective on the incident, revealing that as he walked back, Van Veen had put his darts down, which Littler perceived as disrespectful. Littler expressed that he called Van Veen a 'cry baby' because there was no need for such behavior. He also mentioned that when Van Veen won, he congratulated him and picked up his darts. Littler further stated that there was no need for Van Veen to stare at him when he still had not thrown his three darts. He added that from his point of view, he was focused on the TV, thinking that Van Veen would not miss his shot. Littler also shared that he did a fist bump towards his girlfriend and her dad, which is when the fans started screaming. He emphasized that Van Veen should have stepped back, looked at the floor, and then thrown his last dart instead of staring at him. Littler recently produced his worst televised average in the Premier League Darts, which he attributed to a lack of practice and not being in the right mindset. He expressed that he 'didn't want to be there' and had only 18 hours at home, resulting in limited practice time. Van Veen also lost his first match, and the two players did not interact with each other, practicing in separate rooms. Littler noted that this is a normal practice and that everyone needs to move forward. He also pointed out that other incidents in darts have been more heated than his exchange with Van Veen, 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.