WORLD No1. Luke Littler was accused of “out of order” after being defeated by Gian van Veen in a fiery Premier League Darts quarter-final encounter in Manchester last night.
Amid a tense deciding leg, Van Veen missed a match dart before turning to find Littler celebrating in front of the home crowd, with the world champion then gesturing angrily at his opponent as he turned back to the oche.
Littler then missed a chance to throw for the match, and Van Veen did not allow him another visit as he wrapped up the quarter-final win – but not before Littler made a crying gesture to the crowd and then exchanged a brief handshake with his rival.
“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,” Van Veen told Sky Sports. “And then he also makes that crying gesture.
“He’s a fantastic darts player, but today he showed he’s not a good loser. Celebrating a miss from your opponent really annoys me.
“That’s why I gave him a look. The fact he then misses three darts at a double is his problem. Then he looked at me like I was the problem. He is probably fuming.
“That’s my perspective. His perspective is probably different.
“I love Luke to bits. All the attention he has brought to the sport is phenomenal, but today was my day.”
Littler had surged to the top of the standings with back-to-back victories in Dublin and Berlin, and was the big favourite on home soil at the AO Arena, but the 19-year-old’s hopes of claiming a third straight Premier League win were ended prematurely by Van Veen.
Littler, who is a big Manchester United fan and hails from Warrington, failed to hit top form against Van Veen, who had not won a match since week four in the Premier League and is still recovering from the kidney stones that forced him to sit out Dublin.
Littler reacted to his controversial defeat by posting a list of his TV titles with the headline “goodnight, god bless, thank you Manchester” covering up his last 16 exit in the European Championship, in which Van Veen is the current reigning champion.
He also mocked Van Veen’s statement saying that Littler’s behaviour “was out of place” with three tears of joy emojis.
Meanwhile, Gerwyn Price, who defeated Van Veen to win the night in Manchester, said the confrontation between the Dutchman and Littler is “part and parcel of darts”.
Speaking after his 6-2 victory to rocket up the Premier League table with his second nightly win of the campaign, Price said: “I’ve been in that situation. That’s part and parcel of darts. Emotions are up and down, it’s a rollercoaster.
“Sometimes you need to be a bit p***** off and get those reactions, otherwise what’s the point? Do you not want to win that much?
“You probably regret some of the things you do. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.
“I’ve been there. The backlash off it – Luke [Littler] will have a bit of it.
“I’ve been in that situation and I feel for the kid at the minute.”
