Luke Littler has hit back at rival Gian van Veen after their fiery showdown came to a dramatic and controversial conclusion in Thursday’s Premier League Darts clash.
The 19-year-old sensation, known as “The Nuke,” suffered a narrow 6-5 defeat in Manchester, but the real talking point came during a tense deciding leg that saw tempers flare on both sides.
It marked Littler’s first loss in seven Premier League outings, ending an impressive run that included back-to-back nightly wins in Berlin and Dublin.
During the closing stages, Littler missed crucial match darts, and his behaviour at the oche appeared to frustrate Van Veen. The Dutchman, 23, initially failed to take out his own finish and seemed to believe Littler was celebrating his miss. That moment sparked a visible reaction, with Van Veen staring down his opponent before returning to the board.
Littler responded by throwing his arms up in Van Veen’s direction and rallying the Manchester crowd, adding further fuel to an already heated exchange.
The drama didn’t stop there. After missing two more match darts, Littler appeared to mock the situation—miming crying gestures toward the crowd and seemingly mouthing “cry-baby”—just before Van Veen sealed the quarter-final victory.
Clearly frustrated, Littler offered only a brief handshake before storming off stage. Moments later, he took to Instagram to deliver his response.
Posting a screenshot highlighting his list of PDC titles on Wikipedia, he wrote: “goodnight godbless thankyou manchester.”
He then doubled down by reposting Van Veen’s post-match comments—where the Dutchman labelled his behaviour “out of order”—overlaying them with laughing emojis.
Van Veen had earlier expressed his frustration, saying he felt Littler’s reaction crossed a line.
“I saw Luke celebrating because I missed and I feel like that’s not normal,” he explained. “Yes, you’re there for yourself, but don’t cheer when your opponent misses.”
He also took issue with the gestures, adding: “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 on the incident, Van Veen insisted his reaction came from pure frustration in the moment.
“I missed the double 15 and I was fuming with myself. Then I looked around and saw him celebrating—it didn’t sit right with me,” he said.
“He probably saw my reaction and then missed his darts. From my side, I didn’t think I did anything wrong.
“That’s darts—emotions run high. My perspective might be different from his.”
Despite the tension, Van Veen was quick to acknowledge Littler’s impact on the sport.
“I love Luke to bits. He’s a fantastic player and brilliant 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 that momentum into the semi-finals, defeating Josh Rock 6-3 to book his place in the final.
However, his run came to an end against Gerwyn Price, who secured a dominant 6-2 victory to claim his second nightly win of the season—his first since triumphing in Antwerp.
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