Luke Littler row continues as Gian van Veen makes feelings clear on his rival

Ed Griffiths
Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:18:15 +0000

Gian van Veen has signalled his readiness to put his dispute with Luke Littler behind them following their heated Premier League quarter-final encounter in Manchester a fortnight ago.

The Dutch player is prepared to "bury the hatchet" with the world champion after tensions flared between the pair during their clash.

Littler stated in an interview this week that the time had come to move past the incident, and Van Veen appears willing to do the same despite maintaining his position on what transpired.

The flashpoint occurred when Littler appeared to celebrate after Van Veen missed a match dart, before gesturing for his opponent to return to the oche.

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Their encounter concluded with an icy handshake, with further exchanges continuing on social media afterwards.

Littler has denied celebrating the missed dart, but Van Veen remains firm in his assessment that the world champion's conduct was "childish".

Nevertheless, the Dutchman harbours no hard feelings towards his rival and is content to draw a line under the affair.

Asked whether they needed to clear the air, he replied: "It’s a difficult one. Like for myself, not really. He said his piece the other day.

He added: "I still have the same view as I had two weeks ago when it all happened and if he wants to bury the hatchet then fine.

"I don’t have any hard feelings towards him and I don’t know how it is the other way around but we’ll see how it goes.

"He’s got his opinion and he’s entitled to it. I still have mine, I still have the same opinion as I had two weeks ago, straight after the incident happened.

"I’ve looked back at it, I’ve seen the videos and I still stand by my opinion and you know, it is what it is and we’ll just have to go forward with it."

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The rivalry could be renewed in the semi-final of Thursday’s Premier League event in Rotterdam, where Van Veen would have home advantage.

The 23-year-old sees the possibility of a future friendship with Littler and hopes the pair can face each other again soon.

Asked whether they could be friends, he said: "For sure. Like I said, there’s no hard feeling from my side.

"It’s all happening in the heat of the moment and of course, you know, he’s got his opinion, I’ve got mine but yeah, that’s how it goes."

The spat has been a talking point for two weeks and in a time where the sport’s top stars have been accused of being too friendly with each other, Van Veen says a bit of needle can be good - as long as he’s not involved in it.

"I enjoy it but only if I’m not involved. I think that’s the best for me. I think it’s good for the sport to have a bit of needle here and there but you never want to be involved.”

Van Veen must beat Luke Humphries in the quarter-final to set up a tie with Littler, who opens against Gerwyn Price.

Home favourite Michael van Gerwen takes on Jonny Clayton and Josh Rock takes on Stephen Bunting.