Littler Explains 'Cry Baby' Remark Aimed at Van Veen

Luke Littler has shed light on the incident that led him to label Gian van Veen a 'cry baby' following their contentious Premier League Darts match in Manchester. According to Littler, Van Veen essentially conceded at the end of the match, prompting Littler's strong reaction. The controversy began when Van Veen won a disputed match earlier in April, during which Littler became agitated after Van Veen turned towards him while throwing match darts in a decisive leg. Van Veen later told Sky Sports that Littler was 'out of order' for celebrating towards the crowd, which caused him to stare at Littler. However, Littler has now shared his side of the story ahead of the Premier League Darts event in Rotterdam. He revealed that as he walked back around, Van Veen had already put his darts down, which Littler felt was disrespectful. Littler questioned Van Veen's actions, stating that he had never seen a player put their darts down in front of their opponent before. When Van Veen won, Littler congratulated him and picked up his own darts. Littler believes there was no need for Van Veen to stare at him, especially since Van Veen still had a dart in hand. Littler also addressed his poor performance in Brighton, where he produced his worst televised average and lost to Stephen Bunting. He attributed the loss to a lack of practice and a general lack of motivation. Van Veen also suffered a loss in his first match, and the two players did not interact with each other. Littler downplayed the incident, suggesting that other rivalries in darts have been more intense, such as those between Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney. He acknowledged that the rivalry between him and Van Veen will likely continue, but expressed his focus on moving forward with his darts career.