Littler Explains 'Cry Baby' Remark Aimed at Van Veen

Luke Littler has shed light on the reason behind his 'cry baby' comment directed at Gian van Veen following their intense Premier League Darts match in Manchester. Littler claims Van Veen essentially gave up towards the end of the match, prompting the remark. The controversy began when Van Veen won a contentious match earlier in April, during which Littler reacted angrily to Van Veen turning towards him while throwing match darts in a dramatic deciding leg. Van Veen had stated that Littler was 'out of order' for celebrating towards the crowd, which led him to stare at Littler, who ultimately 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 as he walked back, he was still looking towards the crowd, and Van Veen had put his darts down, which Littler felt was disrespectful. He believes Van Veen was the one not doing his job by being respectful, and that it was the first time he had seen someone put their darts down in front of him. Littler stated that he called Van Veen a 'cry baby' because there was no need for Van Veen's actions, and that when Van Veen won, Littler congratulated him and picked up his darts. 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 that Van Veen would not miss, given his reputation as one of the best bull hitters in the game. Littler looked up at the TV, had a drink of water, and then 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 and should have just stepped back, looked at the floor, and thrown his last dart. Littler recently produced his worst televised average, 83.94, in a 6-4 defeat to Stephen Bunting 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 pair did not speak to each other, practicing in different rooms, which Littler says is 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 that they will likely talk someday, but for now, he is focused on his darts.