Van Veen Unfazed by Littler Spat Ahead of Premier League Darts

Gian van Veen remains unmoved by the controversy surrounding his spat with Luke Littler at the Premier League in Manchester, stating that he doesn't need a conversation with Littler to put the incident behind them. Van Veen had won a contentious match against Littler, who reacted angrily after Van Veen turned towards him while throwing darts in the deciding leg. The Dutch player believes Littler was 'out of order' for celebrating towards the crowd, which prompted him to stare at Littler, leading to Littler missing crucial match darts and losing the contest. Littler has since spoken out about the incident, claiming his celebrations were directed at his girlfriend and dad, and that Van Veen was a 'cry baby' for putting his darts down before the match was over. Despite hearing Littler's side of the story, Van Veen's opinion on the matter remains unchanged, although he insists there are no hard feelings between them. The incident has sparked debate in the darts community, with some players and pundits weighing in on the controversy. Michael van Gerwen believes the incident has been blown out of proportion, stating that if it were a significant issue, he and Phil Taylor would have been in the news every week due to their fiery clashes. The spat between Van Veen and Littler is expected to add an extra layer of tension to their potential meeting in the semi-finals of the Premier League Darts in Rotterdam. Van Veen is looking forward to playing in front of his home crowd, having attended the first-ever Premier League night at the Rotterdam Ahoy in 2016. He hopes to create his own special moment, similar to Raymond van Barneveld's famous walk-on, and is excited to experience the energy of the crowd as the Dutch No 1 and world No 3 player.