Littler Explains 'Cry Baby' Remark Aimed at Van Veen

Luke Littler has shed light on why he referred to Gian van Veen as a 'cry baby' following their intense Premier League Darts match in Manchester. According to Littler, Van Veen appeared to give up towards 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 upset 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, which led him to stare at Littler. 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 explained that as he walked back, he was still looking towards the crowd, and Van Veen had put his darts down, which Littler found disrespectful. Littler felt that Van Veen's actions were unnecessary and that he should have instead focused on his game. When Van Veen won, Littler congratulated him, but the incident left a sour taste. Littler also stated that there was no need for Van Veen to stare at him when he still had not thrown his three darts. He believes that Van Veen should have instead focused on his own game and not gotten distracted. Littler added that he was looking up at the TV, thinking that Van Veen would not miss his shot, and that he did a fist bump towards his girlfriend and her dad, which is when the fans started screaming. Littler produced his worst televised average last week in Brighton, which he attributed to a lack of practice and a lack of motivation. Van Veen also lost his first match, and the two did not speak to each other, practicing in different rooms. Littler thinks that the incident has been blown out of proportion and that other incidents in darts have been more heated. He pointed to arguments between Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney as examples. Littler believes that the rivalry between him and Van Veen will draw more viewers and that they will eventually talk and put the incident behind them.