Dutch darts player Gian van Veen has stated that he doesn't need to talk to Luke Littler to put their recent on-stage spat behind them. The controversy began when Van Veen won a contentious match, and Littler reacted angrily after Van Veen turned towards him during a dramatic leg. Van Veen called Littler's behavior 'out of order' and claimed that Littler's celebrations, directed at the crowd, caused him to stare back.
However, Littler recently shared his side of the story, explaining that his celebrations were intended for his girlfriend and dad, not Van Veen. Despite hearing Littler's perspective, Van Veen's opinion on the incident remains unchanged, although he insists there are no hard feelings between them. Van Veen expressed that if Littler wants to move forward and 'bury the hatchet,' he is open to it, but it's not necessary for him to do so. The Dutch player prefers to focus on his upcoming matches, including a potential semifinal against Littler in Rotterdam, rather than dwelling on the past incident.
Van Veen also mentioned that he enjoys the competitive 'needle' in darts but prefers to be an observer rather than a participant. Michael van Gerwen, another prominent darts player, believes that the incident between Van Veen and Littler has been blown out of proportion. Van Gerwen thinks that if their altercation was a significant issue, he and Phil Taylor would have been in the news every week due to their own heated exchanges.
The 'Green Machine' downplayed the incident, stating that it was just emotions and that nothing substantial happened. As the Premier League Darts heads to Rotterdam, Van Veen is excited to play in front of his home crowd, having attended the first-ever Premier League night at the Rotterdam Ahoy in 2016.
He has fond memories of watching Raymond van Barneveld's famous walk-on and is looking forward to experiencing that moment for himself as the Dutch No 1 and world No 3. Van Veen will face Luke Humphries on his first Premier League night on home soil, while other notable matches include Michael van Gerwen vs Jonny Clayton and Luke Littler vs Gerwyn Price.