Littler Explains 'Cry Baby' Comment Directed at Van Veen

Luke Littler has shed light on the reason behind his 'cry baby' remark aimed at Gian van Veen 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 comment. The controversy began when Van Veen won a disputed match earlier in April, which saw Littler react 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 to him staring at Littler. However, Littler has now shared his side of the story ahead of the Premier League Darts in Rotterdam. He explained that as he walked back, he was still looking towards the crowd, and Van Veen had put his darts down, which Littler felt was disrespectful. Littler expressed that he called Van Veen a 'cry baby' because there was no need for Van Veen's actions. When Van Veen won, Littler congratulated him and picked up his darts. 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 added that from his perspective, he was focused on the TV and thought Van Veen would not miss his shot. Littler mentioned that he did a fist bump towards his girlfriend and her dad, which is when the fans started screaming. He felt 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 wanting to be there. He had only 18 hours at home and didn't get much time to practice, which affected his performance. Van Veen also lost his first match, and the pair did not speak to each other, practicing in different rooms. Littler pointed out that other incidents in darts have been more heated, citing arguments between Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney. He believes that the rivalry between him and Van Veen will draw more viewers and create an interesting dynamic in the competition.