Littler Explains 'Cry Baby' Comment Directed at Van Veen

Luke Littler has shed light on the incident that led him to call 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 contentious match earlier in April, during which Littler became agitated 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 he claimed caused him to stare at Littler. However, Littler has now shared his side of the story, explaining that as he walked back, he was still looking towards the crowd, and 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 recalled looking up at the TV, thinking that Van Veen would not miss, and then did a fist bump towards his girlfriend and her dad, which is when the fans started screaming. Littler felt that Van Veen should have simply stepped back, looked at the floor, and thrown his last dart instead of staring at him. Littler recently produced his worst televised average in the Premier League Darts and attributed it to a lack of practice, stating that he 'didn't want to be there.' He had limited time at home and felt that his practice before the game did not go as planned. Van Veen also lost his first match, and the pair did not interact, practicing in different rooms, which Littler considers normal. Littler believes that other incidents in darts have been more heated than his exchange with Van Veen, citing arguments between Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney. He thinks that the rivalry between him and Van Veen will draw more viewers and create an exciting competition. Littler is focused on his darts and is looking forward to potentially meeting Van Veen in the semi-finals in Rotterdam.