Luke Littler has shed light on why he referred to Gian van Veen as a 'cry baby' following their intense Premier League Darts match in Manchester. According to Littler, Van Veen essentially conceded at the end of the match, prompting the remark. The controversy began when Van Veen won a disputed match earlier in April, during which Littler became upset after Van Veen turned towards him while throwing match darts in the decisive leg. Van Veen had stated that Littler was 'out of order' for celebrating towards the crowd, which led him to stare at Littler, who subsequently missed his match darts and lost.
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 Van Veen had placed his darts on the table and stared at him, which Littler found unnecessary and disrespectful. He 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 believes Van Veen was at fault for staring at him before throwing his final dart, and that he should have instead focused on the floor and thrown without distraction. Littler also discussed his poor performance last week in Brighton, where he suffered a 6-4 defeat to Stephen Bunting with his worst televised average of 83.94.
He attributed this to a lack of practice and a general disinterest in being there. Van Veen also lost his first match, and the two did not interact, practicing in separate rooms.
Littler views this as normal and expects to speak with Van Veen eventually, possibly in the semi-finals. He also believes that the incident between them was not as severe as other controversies in darts, such as the arguments between Gerwyn Price and Daryl Gurney.
Littler thinks the rivalry between him and Van Veen will draw more viewers and create an exciting dynamic in the sport.