“Everyone at home could hear that the crowd was on his side, and that's fine” – Van Veen not pinning blame on partizan Belgian crowd in Premier League Darts defeat

In a roaring Lotto Arena in Antwerp, Gian van Veen bowed out in the quarterfinals on Night Two of the Premier League Darts. The Dutchman lost 6-5 to Gerwyn Price after a clash that, in his words, “had two completely different halves.”

Van Veen started strongly. "The first half you were 100% on the doubles. Scoring wasn’t brilliant, but it was fine," he told Viaplay. Although the maximums didn’t arrive, his early success on the outer ring was flawless.

The momentum then swung completely. "After that I just miss the 52 — I miss two darts. You keep missing, then you get one match dart at the bull. You miss that, and then it’s just over." Instead of closing it out, he allowed Price back into the match.

The Dutchman refused to pin the defeat on that single match dart. “You can’t judge yourself on one dart at the bull,” he said matter-of-factly. "My scoring just wasn’t great today. He didn’t start well either, and then you just have to finish it off. Like I said, I miss those two darts at 52. When you look back at the match, that’s just incredibly frustrating."

The setting in Antwerp also influenced the feel of the night. Van Veen had high hopes for his appearance in Belgium. "I’d imagined a lot about playing here in Antwerp. It’s obviously a beautiful venue." he said. "But I think everyone at home could hear that the crowd was on his side."

By “his” he meant Price, who clearly enjoyed the crowd’s backing. Van Veen stayed sportsmanlike: "That’s fine — that’s allowed. You just maybe don’t expect it. I definitely didn’t lose because of that. But maybe it makes it a slightly different experience than I’d hoped for."

Still, he put the defeat into perspective. The Premier League is a long, grueling campaign. “It’s a marathon,” he acknowledged. “It’s a battle of endurance. One week everything goes your way, the next week it doesn't. That’s part of it. You just take it on the chin and move on to next week."