Luke Littler has shed light on the incident that led him to label Gian van Veen a 'cry baby' following their intense Premier League Darts match in Manchester. According to Littler, Van Veen effectively conceded at the end of the match, prompting the remark.
The controversy began when Van Veen won a contentious match earlier in April, with Littler reacting angrily after Van Veen turned towards him while throwing match darts in the deciding leg. Van Veen claimed Littler was 'out of order' for celebrating towards the crowd, causing him to stare at Littler, who subsequently missed match darts and lost the contest.
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 felt was disrespectful. Littler stated, 'I think he's the one who's not doing his job, obviously being respectful.
I think that's the first-ever time I've seen someone put their darts down in front of my face.' Littler called Van Veen a 'cry baby' because he believed there was no need for Van Veen's actions. When Van Veen won, Littler congratulated him, saying 'well done, you got the win.' Littler also mentioned 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, thinking Van Veen would not miss his shot. Littler looked up, had a drink of water, and did a fist bump towards his girlfriend and her dad, which is when the fans started screaming.
Littler felt that Van Veen had no reason to look back and stare at him, as he still had a dart in hand. Littler recently produced his worst televised average, 83.94, in a 6-4 defeat to Stephen Bunting in Brighton. He attributed the poor performance to a lack of practice, saying he 'didn't want to be there.' Littler had only 18 hours at home and didn't get much time to practice, which he believes contributed to his subpar performance. Van Veen also lost his first match, and the two did not speak to each other, practicing in different rooms, which Littler considers normal.
Littler thinks that other incidents in darts have been more heated than his exchange with Van Veen, citing arguments between Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney. He believes that the rivalry between him and Van Veen will draw more viewers, and they will likely talk someday.
For now, Littler is focused on his darts, and the Premier League Darts continues every Thursday until May 28, live on Sky Sports.