The Dutch star has made clear the pair’s relationship remains icy following their explosive Premier League bust-up in Manchester — and he’s not losing any sleep over it.
Gian van Veen has spoken out on his simmering feud with Luke Littler, making it abundantly clear that any hopes of a swift reconciliation are wide of the mark. The Dutchman was blunt when asked about the state of their relationship, telling Viaplay: “I don’t think things will be very friendly between us anytime soon. 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.”
The flashpoint that set the darts world alight came during Night Nine of the 2026 Premier League at the AO Arena in Manchester. With the score level at 5-5, Van Veen narrowly missed his first attempt at double 15 to win the match. Moments later, he looked towards the crowd, clearly upset after seeing Littler’s reaction. Littler responded with a shooing gesture towards Van Veen, before missing three more match darts on his next throw. He followed that up with a ‘crybaby’ gesture as he walked back to his table, and only offered a cursory handshake at the end of the match.
Van Veen wasted no time making his feelings known post-match. “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. “He also makes that crying gesture. He’s a fantastic darts player, but today he showed he’s not a good loser.” Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Van Veen described Littler’s behaviour as “out of order” and admitted he was “fuming” about the incident.
Littler’s initial response was dismissive. He shared a graphic containing Van Veen’s comments on his Instagram Stories, overlaying it with multiple laughing emojis. It was a reaction that did little to cool tensions. “He hasn’t approached me either. I saw his reaction on social media; he thought it was funny,” Van Veen said firmly.
When Littler eventually gave his full account, he insisted the whole thing had been misread. The teenager claimed he had performed “a little fist bump” towards his girlfriend Faith and her father after Van Veen’s miss, and that the crowd simply took over from there. He also admitted to calling Van Veen a “crybaby,” saying: “He put his darts down on the table. He’s the one who was not doing his job of being respectful.”
That explanation cut little ice with Van Veen. “It is a difficult one. For myself, not really — I don’t need a conversation. He said his piece the other day. I have looked back at it, I have seen the videos, and I still stand by my opinion. It is what it is, and we just have to go forward with it.”
Van Veen did leave the door open to a future friendship of sorts, saying: “If he wants to bury the hatchet, then fine. I don’t have any hard feelings towards him.” But he was equally clear that he hasn’t lost focus on what matters most on the oche. “Of course, I am looking forward to the next time I’m playing him. He will probably be fired up even more, he will probably average 110 or 112 against me — but that is how good he is.”
The fallout appeared to affect Littler more than his rival. A week after the incident, Littler produced his worst-ever televised average of 83.94 in Brighton as he suffered a 6-4 defeat to Stephen Bunting, and admitted afterwards he “didn’t want to be there.”
For now, the rivalry shows no signs of thawing. Two of the sport’s biggest names are locked in a cold war that looks set to spill over every time they share a stage — and for a sport that thrives on drama, that might not be such a bad thing.
