Gian van Veen sends clear warning to Luke Littler ahead of World Darts Championship final

Gian van Veen has vowed to bring his ‘A-game’ to the PDC World Darts Championship final and insists he is ‘very confident’ of getting his hands on the prestigious Sid Waddell Trophy.

The 23-year-old Dutchman, ranked ten in the world, came through an all-time classic semi-final with Gary Anderson to set up what promises to be epic against Luke Littler, the reigning champion.

Having already swept aside Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals, Van Veen picked up where he left off to storm to a 3-1 lead over two-time winner Anderson.

The Alexandra Palace crowd were treated to one of the great sets in the fifth, in which Van Veen came back from two down to win three legs on the trot – after Anderson had produced a 10-darter and a Big Fish checkout – to edge closer to victory.

Van Veen refused to take his foot off the gas from that point onwards, holding his nerve to prevail 6-3 and reach his maiden World Championship final.

A daunting contest awaits the world youth champion against 18-year-old sensation Littler, who put Ryan Searle to the sword earlier in the evening, winning 6-1 with an average of 105.35, in what was a far more one-sided semi-final.

Littler, who actually lost the first set to Searle, is looking to become the first player to win back-to-back world titles since Anderson did so a decade ago. Only four players in the history of the sport of managed the feat.

‘It feels amazing, of course,’ Van Veen told reporters when asked to describe his feelings after securing a place in the final.

‘Being a child, I wasn’t even dreaming about [being in a final]. My first ever dream was to be in a World Championship, I wasn’t even dreaming about getting into a final.

‘But here we are and it feels amazing. I’ve told everyone over the last couple of days that I’m still pinching myself.

‘I’m still going further into the tournament so I won’t stop pinching myself.’

Van Veen appeared visibly annoyed the crowd on several occasions across the semi-final, with his opponent, Anderson, a hugely popular figure at Ally Pally.

Loud boos, jeers and whistles were clearly audible on Sky Sports’ live broadcast of the thrilling match and many viewers felt a line had been crossed.

But while Van Veen was admittedly ‘a bit frustrated’, he explained: ‘I enjoyed every single second of it because Gary played phenomenal, especially in the fifth set when he started off with a 10-dart leg and then with a 170.

‘But I still managed to get that set and it was a fantastic game, Gary played so well.

‘When the crowd got involved, everyone saw how I got a bit frustrated with that, but I’m so relieved that I still got the job done in the end, even with the crowd against me.

‘But it’s fair play because everyone knows: I’m a Gary Anderson fan so if they want Gary to win, I can’t blame them, so I was just really enjoying myself up on that stage.’

Asked how confident he is of beating Littler and writing his name in the history books, Van Veen replied: ‘Very confident, of course. I’m playing so well this tournament.

‘I think my lowest average was about 97, 98, so I’m feeling really good up on that stage, especially in these kind of formats as well.

‘Today was a very long game but I still averaged 103 and my checkout percentage was really good as well.

‘It gives me massive confidence, of course, going into the final. I know Luke Littler is waiting and everyone knows what he’s capable of so I need to bring out my A-game tomorrow otherwise it’s going to be a very, very difficult game.’

On the prospect of another classic match awaiting him in the final, Van Veen replied: ‘Hopefully, that’s the goal!

‘I know if I play well, play like I can… I’m not going to win 7-0 or 7-1, it’s going to be a very close game and If I play less then he’s going to smash me.

‘That’s what I have in my head so hopefully I bring my A-game like I have done over the last couple of days.

‘I’m very confident I will and then it’s going to be a very, very good game.’

Van Veen is under no illusions of the size of the task ahead of him, though, admitting there may be times when he is just ‘keeping up’ against Littler, who he describes as ‘the better scorer’ of the two.

‘It’s going to be very tough, of course, because he’s going to put you under pressure from set one,’ he continued.

‘It’s maybe going to be 13 sets or it is going be very, very tough against him.

‘But I know if I can keep up with my scoring, I know my checkout percentage has been really good the whole year, so hopefully I’m going to take my chances and keep up with his scoring-wise because he’s probably the better scorer than I am.

‘So I just need to keep up, take my chances and I’ve got a chance.’

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