Gian van Veen skips first tournament after capturing European Championship title

Gian van Veen has chosen to take some rest after capturing his first major title. As a result, 'GVV The Giant' will not be present at the final two Players Championship tournaments of the season.

Van Veen took the title at the European Darts Championship in Dortmund last weekend. The Dutchman started his tournament with a convincing 6-3 victory over Damon Heta (6-3), before playing his best match in the second round. Thanks to an average of 109.92, Ryan Searle was blown over 10-2. Van Veen then made it to the quarterfinals after a 10-5 win over Ryan Joyce.

From the semifinals on, Van Veen was really tested. The 23-year-old dart player won 11-9 over Michael van Gerwen in the last four, before taking the title with a handsome 11-10 victory over world number one Luke Humphries.

Van Veen had signed up for Players Championship 33 and 34, which will be played on Wednesday and Thursday, but on the updated list of participants the name of the Dutch top talent is missing. Earlier it was announced that Michael van Gerwen would also not travel to Wigan, which means 'Mighty Mike' will definitely not participate in the Players Championship Finals in November.

Jonny Clayton, Kai Gotthardt, Pero Ljubic, Josh Rock, Tim Wolters, Gary Anderson and James Wade are the other absent Tour Card holders at Players Championship 33 and 34, their spots being taken by Darius Labanauskas, Stefan Bellmont, Ted Evetts, Jamai van den Herik, Mervyn King, Scott Waites, Carl Sneyd, Graham Hall, Joe Hunt, David Davies (PC33 only).