Luke Littler posts scathing message after storming off stage following Premier League Darts clash with Gian van Veen

Luke Littler has responded defiantly to rival Gian van Veen following a dramatic and heated finish to their Premier League Darts clash on Thursday night.

“The Nuke,” 19, suffered a narrow 6-5 defeat in Manchester, but the spotlight quickly shifted to a tense deciding leg where emotions boiled over. During the closing moments, Littler reacted angrily toward Van Veen, 23, as the match slipped from his grasp.

The defeat ended Littler’s impressive streak of six consecutive wins in Premier League events, having previously claimed back-to-back nightly victories in Berlin and Dublin.

The young Brit had chances to seal the match but missed key darts on a finish, and his behaviour at the oche appeared to irritate Van Veen.

The Dutchman was unable to check out immediately himself and seemed to interpret Littler’s reactions as celebrations of his missed attempt. Frustration was evident as Van Veen stared directly at Littler before stepping up to throw again—no longer on a finish.

Littler responded in kind, throwing his arms up toward his opponent and hyping up the home crowd, escalating the tension inside the arena.

After missing two further match darts, Littler added to the drama by miming crying gestures toward the crowd and appearing to mouth “cry-baby,” moments before Van Veen capitalised to clinch the quarter-final victory.

Visibly frustrated, Littler gave only a quick handshake before storming off stage.

He wasted no time in making his feelings known on Instagram, posting a screenshot of his PDC titles listed on Wikipedia alongside the caption: “goodnight godbless thankyou manchester.”

Littler also reposted Van Veen’s post-match comments—where the Dutchman branded his actions “out of order”—adding three laughing emojis over the quotes.

Van Veen had voiced his frustration after the match, claiming Littler’s conduct crossed a line.

“I saw Luke celebrating because I missed and I feel like that’s not normal,” he said. “Yes, you’re there for yourself, but don’t cheer when your opponent misses.

“Then I see him making cry baby signs towards me, which is just not done.

“He’s a fantastic darts player, but I feel like tonight his behaviour was out of order.”

Reflecting further, Van Veen explained how the moment unfolded from his perspective.

“I missed double 15 and I was fuming with myself. When I looked around, I saw him celebrating and thought that wasn’t right,” he said.

“I don’t know, maybe he saw my reaction and then missed three darts at double seven. He looked at me like I’d done something wrong, but I didn’t feel I had.

“That’s darts—emotions get involved. My view might be different from his.”

Despite the clash, Van Veen was quick to praise Littler’s influence on the sport.

“I love Luke to bits. He’s a fantastic player and great for darts. The attention he’s brought to the game is phenomenal—but this is also part of it.

“Today was my day.”

Van Veen carried his momentum into the semi-finals, beating Josh Rock 6-3 to reach the final.

However, his run ended there as Gerwyn Price powered to a 6-2 victory, sealing his second nightly win of the season—and his first since triumphing in Antwerp.