Gian van Veen has issued a pointed warning to Luke Littler after the pair’s explosive falling-out at Night 9 of the 2026 Premier League in Manchester — telling the world champion that their next meeting may not be a pleasant one.
The flashpoint came in the deciding leg of their quarter-final at the AO Arena. With the match locked at 5-5 and Van Veen on 90, the Dutchman missed double 15 on the inside. Littler looked up at the TV screen and, as the fans began to roar, responded to the crowd. Van Veen turned around and saw every bit of it. Things then turned ugly. Littler caught Van Veen staring at him and directed gestures back, making a mock-crying pose as his opponent returned to the oche. Van Veen composed himself to pin double six and win 6-5, leaving Littler to storm off stage muttering to himself.
Following the victory, Van Veen labelled Littler’s behaviour as “out of order” and said he was “not a good loser.” “I’m on 90, I miss double 15 on the inside, and then I see him celebrating towards the crowd. I don’t think that’s normal,” the Dutchman said on Sky Sports. “He also makes that crying gesture. He’s a fantastic darts player, but today he showed he’s not a good loser.”
Van Veen then delivered an unmistakable warning ahead of any future encounters: the European champion said their next meeting “may not be very friendly.”
On Instagram, Littler’s response came in the form of laughing emojis reacting to Van Veen’s quotes, followed by a Wikipedia screenshot of his own PDC titles with the caption: “Goodnight, God bless, thank you, Manchester.”
Sky Sports analyst Wayne Mardle was unsparing in his assessment, breaking down exactly what he believed happened. “As he did that, Gian turned round, and as he turned round he’s like ‘why did you do that?'” Mardle said. He added that he could lip-read what Littler said in response but was not willing to repeat it on air, joking he did not want to hand in his notice. His conclusion was clear — Littler had started something he could not finish. “He got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and he won’t be doing that again.”
Gerwyn Price, who quietly produced the performance of the night with dominant 6-2 wins over Luke Humphries, Stephen Bunting and Van Veen to win Night 9, offered the most measured verdict on the incident: “Things like this happen in darts. I’m sure in a couple of weeks it’ll be done and dusted, gone and we’ll move on. I’ve been in that situation, it’s part and parcel — in darts emotions are high, it’s a rollercoaster and people get hyped up.”
The fallout continued well beyond Manchester. The following Thursday at Night 10 in Brighton, Littler was subjected to jeers as he entered the arena and suffered ironic cheers following a poor start from which he could not recover, losing 6-4 to Stephen Bunting and posting his worst-ever televised PDC average of 83.94. The pair did not meet again that night — both lost their quarter-finals — and Jonny Clayton confirmed afterwards that Littler and Van Veen had practised in separate rooms at the Brighton Centre.
Ahead of Rotterdam’s Night 11 on Thursday, Littler broke his silence in a full interview with Online Darts, giving his version of events for the first time. He said: “From my point of view, I’m looking up at the TV, I’m just thinking in my head, ‘he’s not going to miss. Even if he gets a shot at the bullseye, Gian’s one of the best bull hitters in the game.’ When he came inside the double 15, I looked up, had a drink of my water, and then I did a little fist bump towards Faith and her dad. That’s when the fans started screaming, so I was like ‘come on’ to them. But then there was no need for Gian to look back and stare at me. He’s still got a dart in hand, so really he should just step back, look at the floor, and then throw his last dart.”
Littler also revealed that what the cameras did not show was Van Veen placing his darts down on the table. “I think he’s the one not doing his job, obviously being respectful. I think that’s the first-ever time I’ve seen someone put their darts down in my face. I called him a crybaby because there was no need for it. When he won, I picked up my darts and said, ‘Well done, you got the win.'”
He also acknowledged the rivalry is here to stay: “It gets more people watching it. Now people want to watch me and Gian. There’s obviously going to be a rivalry. He’s beaten me a few times, I’ve beaten him a few times. I’m sure we’ll talk sometime. But other than that, I’ve just got to carry on with my darts.”
With the two men potentially drawn to meet in the semi-finals in Rotterdam on Thursday — in front of a Dutch crowd firmly behind Van Veen on his first Premier League home night — the warning issued in Manchester is likely to echo around Rotterdam Ahoy.
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