Littler Explains His 'Cry Baby' Comment Towards Van Veen

Luke Littler has shed light on the reason behind calling Gian van Veen a 'cry baby' following their intense Premier League Darts match in Manchester. Littler claims Van Veen essentially gave up towards the end of the match, prompting the comment. The controversy began when Van Veen won a disputed match earlier in April, with Littler reacting angrily 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 perspective on the incident, revealing that Van Veen had put his darts down in front of him, which he believed was disrespectful. Littler expressed that he called Van Veen a 'cry baby' because there was no need for such behavior. He also mentioned that when Van Veen won, he congratulated him and picked up his darts. Littler 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 he was looking up at the TV, thinking that Van Veen would not miss his shot. Littler also shared that he did a fist bump towards his girlfriend and her dad, which is when the fans started screaming. Littler believes that Van Veen should have stepped back, looked at the floor, and then thrown his last dart instead of staring at him. Meanwhile, Littler had his worst televised average last week in Brighton, which he attributed to a lack of practice and not wanting to be there. Van Veen also lost his first match, and the two did not speak to each other, practicing in different rooms. 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 create a rivalry week in, week out.