Van Veen Unfazed by Littler Spat as Premier League Darts Heads to Rotterdam

Gian van Veen has stated that he doesn't need to have a conversation with Luke Littler to put their recent on-stage spat behind them. The incident occurred during Night Nine of the Premier League in Manchester, where Van Veen emerged victorious in a contentious match. Littler had reacted angrily after Van Veen turned towards him while throwing match darts in the deciding leg. Van Veen described Littler's behavior as "out of order" and claimed that Littler's celebrations towards the crowd provoked him to stare at his opponent. However, Littler has since spoken out about the incident, stating that his celebrations were directed at his girlfriend and father, and that Van Veen was being a "cry baby" for putting his darts down before the match was over. Despite hearing Littler's perspective, Van Veen's opinion on the matter remains unchanged, although he insists there are no hard feelings between them. The Dutchman expressed that he enjoys the competitive aspect of darts but prefers not to be directly involved in conflicts. Van Veen is looking forward to facing Littler again, anticipating that his opponent will be more fired up than ever. Meanwhile, Michael van Gerwen believes that the incident has been blown out of proportion and that too much is being read into it. The "Green Machine" compared it to his past fiery clashes with Phil Taylor, suggesting that if this incident were a big deal, then he and Taylor would have been in the news every week. Van Gerwen attributes the controversy to emotions and the desire for a story. Commentators Michael Bridge and Chris Murphy discussed the spat on the Love The Darts podcast, with Murphy suggesting that it's time to move on and Bridgey stating that Littler thrives on being the "WWE pantomime villain." Littler has opened up about expecting a frosty welcome from the Dutch crowd in Rotterdam but is focused on his game and hopes to come alive in the upcoming weeks. Van Veen, on the other hand, is excited to experience the Rotterdam Ahoy venue as a player, having attended the first-ever Premier League night there in 2016 as a fan. He is looking forward to having his own moment on the stage, especially as the Dutch No 1 and world No 3.