Let it go – Luke Littler says time to move on after Gian van Veen bust-up
By Jim van Wijk, Press Association
Luke Littler admits he has yet to speak to Gian van Veen about their Premier League bust-up, but feels everyone needs to “let it go.”
World champion Littler was involved in a heated exchange with the Dutchman when the pair met in the quarter-finals on night nine of the competition in Manchester.
Van Veen – runner-up at Alexandra Palace – had missed a match dart in their quarter-final, which saw Littler celebrating in front of the crowd and then gesturing for the Dutchman to get back to the oche.
ð£ï¸ “Me and Gian haven’t spoken, but I’m sure we will. I didn’t do it to him — I did it to Faith and her dad.”
ð¤ Luke Littler gives his side of the Van Veen fallout and dismisses claims they’ve been kept apart â¢ï¸
Full interview ð¥ðhttps://t.co/g9oLIDRpEJ pic.twitter.com/k6vaXkRL8q— Online Darts (@OfficialOLDarts) April 13, 2026
Littler subsequently failed to close out the match, which Van Veen then took 6-5 – with the world champion mimicking crying before offering a brief handshake as he walked off the stage.
Van Veen later accused Littler of being “out of order” and said their next meeting may not be “very friendly”.
Littler was booed in last week’s Premier League event in Brighton, where he lost in the quarter-final to Stephen Bunting and so missed out on the chance of a swift rematch with Van Veen.
VAN VEEN KO'S LITTLER!
Gian van Veen is back in business!
The European Champion halts Luke Littler's winning run with a dramatic deciding-leg victory in Manchester!
ð² https://t.co/gFQK4rQ2wU #PLDarts | QF3 pic.twitter.com/j9caCQ7RsK— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) April 2, 2026
The 19-year-old, though, cut a relaxed figure as he spoke to Online Darts during an exhibition in in Bournemouth when he looked to draw a line under the incident – with the Premier League set to move on to Rotterdam on Thursday night where the pair could meet again in the semi-finals.
“I wouldn’t say the fallout, it is what it is, it is done. Obviously the fans in Brighton didn’t let it go, I let it go,” Littler said.
“I think everyone needs to forget about it now. Me and Gian haven’t spoken, but I am sure we will and we can meet in the semi-finals next week in Rotterdam.”
Reflecting on events in Manchester, Littler said: “I’m looking up at the TV, I’m just thinking in my head, he’s not going to miss. Even if he gets a shot at the bull, Gian’s one of the best bull-hitters in the game.
“When he came inside the double 15, I looked up, had a drink of my water and then I did a little fist bump towards (my girlfriend) Faith (Millar) and her dad.
“That’s when the fans started on that side, they were all screaming, so then I was like that to them, ‘come on’, and then the whole arena.”
Littler added: “But there was no need for Gian to look back and stare at me. He’s still got a dart in hand so really he should just step back, look at the floor and then throw his last dart. I didn’t do it to him, I did it Faith and her dad, the whole crowd.
“What other people didn’t see was as I walked back round, I’m still looking that way, he’s put his darts down on the table. No one sees that. So really I think he’s the one who’s not doing his job, obviously being respectful.
“I think that is the first ever time I have seen someone put their darts down in front of my face, I was like ‘why?’.
“I came inside, called him a cry baby because there was no need for it and there was no need for him to put his darts down. Then when he won, I picked my darts up and said: ‘Well done, you got the win.’
“It is what it is, I am sure we will speak, but people need to forget about it.”
