‘Won’t be friendly any time soon’ – Van Veen says Luke Littler hasn’t spoken to him since Premier League Darts outburst

Gian van Veen has revealed that Luke Littler has made no attempt to contact him since their explosive Premier League Darts bust-up in Manchester on Thursday night — and the Dutchman is in no rush to patch things up.

The pair clashed in a fiery last-leg quarter-final decider at the AO Arena, with Littler appearing to celebrate a missed double from Van Veen, then firing a mocking crying gesture in his direction after failing to capitalise on the chance himself. Van Veen maintained his composure to pin the winning double and progress to the semi-finals, but the bad blood did not end there.

Speaking to Swedish streaming service Viaplay in the aftermath, Van Veen confirmed the silence between the two. “No, we haven’t spoken. He hasn’t approached me either. I saw his reaction on social media. He thought it was funny. Well, I don’t think things will be very friendly between us anytime soon.”

He added, with characteristic directness: “I’m here for myself. He’s a fantastic darter, the world number one, so what he does for the sport is great, but I care little about what he thinks of me.”

Littler, for his part, offered no verbal response — but his Instagram made his feelings clear. He reposted Van Veen’s post-match comments accompanied by three laughing emojis, apparently dismissing the Dutchman’s reaction as entertainment rather than anything worthy of serious engagement.

The incident itself unfolded in dramatic fashion. Van Veen established a commanding 4-1 advantage before Littler fought back to level the contest at 5-5. Tensions flared when both competitors were poised on a finishing double. After Littler missed a double seven to take out 134, Van Veen also missed inside on double 15, handing another opportunity to the reigning world champion, who turned to the crowd and beckoned them to cheer his opponent’s failed attempt. Littler then exchanged some angry words with Van Veen before himself going inside on double seven, resulting in him gesturing a crying motion towards his opponent.

Van Veen ultimately secured victory after Littler spurned three darts at the double, and the Dutchman was particularly wounded by what he saw as a lack of basic sportsmanship. “I’m on 90 and miss double 15 on the inside, and then I see him cheering towards the crowd. I don’t think that’s normal. He’s a fantastic darts player, but today he showed he’s not a good loser. Celebrating a miss from your opponent, that really annoys me. That’s why I gave him a look. The fact he then misses three darts at a double, that’s his problem.”

Despite the heat of his comments, Van Veen was careful to separate Littler the player from the incident. “I love Luke to bits. All the attention he has brought to the sport is phenomenal, but today was my day.” He also noted the personal significance of the win, coming in his first Premier League night back after his kidney stone surgery. “The last few weeks have been very tough. And to beat Luke Littler now feels really good. The way it happened, that doesn’t really matter to me,” he said.

The pair will next meet at Premier League Night 10 — with the fixture between the world number one and his latest rival now carrying considerably more edge than it might have done a week ago. Littler remains top of the table, but the manner of his exit in Manchester, and his social media response to Van Veen’s criticism, has generated debate about his conduct at the oche — echoing similar controversies from the 2026 World Championship, where his on-stage outburst during the win over Rob Cross drew widespread comment.