Gian van Veen edges Wessel Nijman in one of the greatest Grand Slam matches ever after Luke Littler completes perfect group stage

Gian van Veen has secured top place in the group of death at the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts after one of the greatest quality games in the tournaments storied history. With a hard-fought victory over compatriot Wessel Nijman, 'GVV The Giant' secured first place in Group H.

For the third time, despite good play, Nijman was left without reward. It was a bit of a repetitive story for Nijman, who started each match well but let the chances of victory slip through his fingers. Earlier, Nijman lost to Stephen Bunting (5-4) and Josh Rock (5-3) having averaged over 106 in both, while Van Veen had wins over Rock (5-2) and Bunting (5-1).

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The two Dutchmen provided a true spectacle. Nijman got off to a flying start with two 180s and a 10-darter to take a 1-0 lead. A 118 finish made it 2-0. Van Veen got on the scoreboard with a 14-darter, before Nijman took his third leg with a 12-darter.

Van Veen kept himself in the match with a 13-darter, after which Nijman responded by also throwing a 13-darter to take the lead to 4-2. At that point, the 24-year-old Dutchman was even throwing an average of 120, well above the highest average ever at the Grand Slam of Darts. In the seventh leg, Nijman missed one matchdart on the bullseye, after which Van Veen came back to 3-4 with a 13-darter. A matchdart was also missed in the eighth leg, before his compatriot forced a deciding leg with a 74 finish. In the ninth leg Nijman again got matchdarts, but also missed the third and fourth matchdart. Van Veen then had an outside chance on tops to still grab the win and he seized that opportunity. The figures of both Dutchmen were mouthwatering. Van Veen had an average of 103.99 with a finishing percentage of 45 percent. Nijman even threw a 111 average and had a finish percentage of 40 percent.

In Group F, Luke Littler secured the group win in another attractive duel. After wins over Keane Barry (5-0) and Dimitri van den Bergh (5-1), 'The Nuke' also triumphed 5-3 against Lourence Ilagan. Littler almost ensured another perfect end to the match after eight perfect arrows, but the double 12 was missed for a nine darter. Finally, the 17-year-old teenage sensation hit the double 3 to take the win for good.

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