𝐆𝐕𝐕 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐓 🆚 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐓 Ook Gian van Veen doet mee aan het Europees Kampioenschap Darts! Hij ontmoet vrijdagavond de sensationele Damon Heta in zijn eerste partij! 🗓️ 27 oktober rond 19:00 🏟️ Westfalenhallen, Dortmund 📺 Viaplay
Gian van Veen storming to the top of darts: "But I still feel like I'm the same little boy who was dabbling in a tournament two years ago"
PDCThursday, 26 October 2023 at 12:00
Gian van Veen will make his debut at the European Championship this weekend. In the opening round, the 21-year-old Dutchman will take on Damon Heta.
Van Veen only captured his PDC Tour Card early this year and has already climbed to 68th in the world rankings. "Yes, it can go fast. If you had told me at the beginning of this year that I would qualify for all the upcoming majors, I wouldn't have believed you," Van Veen told AD.nl.
As an 11-year-old kid, Van Veen started playing darts. "It actually all started in the soccer canteen of VV Zuilichem, where I won a local tournament. I soon heard, 'Who are you and why are you already throwing so well?' I was barely six feet tall and eleven years old. When I won the Dutch Open at thirteen, the biggest tournament you could win at that age, I thought: this could still be fun."
"When I was 16, I grew a lot and my hand-eye coordination changed," Van Veen continued. "More and more often I went to tournaments at home or abroad and could go home after one round. I had absolutely no self-confidence and also suffered from dartitis. I noticed that I was blocking. You also see it on videos, for example that first Euro Tour match against Vincent Van der Voort. In my third turn I throw treble 20 twice, after which the crowd starts cheering and I can't get the third dart out of my hand. That match wasn't too bad, but I've had tournaments ... it was hell. I had in my head: if you miss, you lose and you're out of the tournament. But the crazy thing was: my level kept improving, I kept winning. That made my self-confidence grow again. Now it doesn't bother me anymore.''
TOTO Dart Kings
Van Veen also recently joined the TOTO Dart Kings team, which includes other top Dutch players such as Michael van Gerwen, Raymond van Barneveld and Danny Noppert, among others. "They said, 'you are the future and the one who should one day knock Van Gerwen off the throne.' When people look at me like that, I like that. Van Barneveld had also said: you just have to take it. That's a nice compliment.''
As a 15-year-old, Van Veen got to play against Van Barneveld during a exhibition tournament. "We always used to watch Van Barneveld on television," says mother Marjan. "Now your son is hanging out with him. Separate, right? Nice that your son is accepted by all those men, like Van Gerwen and Price."
Van Veen also notices that he gets a lot of respect from other players. "Damon Heta told me once, 'This is not normal what you are doing lately. All the top players take you into account and whoever says they don't, they're lying'. Sometimes it's still weird to be among guys you only saw on television until recently, but I just have to beat them.'
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The young Dutchman has been performing so strongly lately that he is even considered an outsider for the upcoming PDC World Darts Championship. "I hear sometimes that I can have a shot at the title, but I don't see that for me. I'm already happy if I win one match. I was asked the other day: when would you like to be at the World Cup of Darts for the Netherlands? Those are not things I think about at all. It goes fast, but I still feel like I'm the same little boy who was dabbling in a tournament two years ago.''
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- Just curious, why clearly a plant?Matilda6220-12-2024
- Kris...whatever is name is, is clearly a plant. Completely bogus.richieburnettrocks20-12-2024
- Pay a sizeable chunk off the mortgage for sure and buy Grandad something nice for Christmas.Mysstree19-12-2024
- No chance. His throw is all staccato. It is forced. Not natural.medinabello19-12-2024
- More roid rage than nonsenserichieburnettrocks18-12-2024
- Even the wild crowd went easy on him... we really have gone soft in this country. He should now play in the men's events and try and recover a smidgen of respect, rather than take advantage of the women's game.MrYnyslas197118-12-2024
- The bloke wouldn't get any abuse if he just earned his way in instead of putting on lipstick and larping as a bird.thebogeyman17-12-2024
- Imagine what he'd be like if he done it on TV.medinabello15-12-2024
- Moot point Wattemina will beat him anyways so he will have an early Xmas after all.medinabello15-12-2024
- Grow up mate it's a game of darts surely a player has the capacity to play more than 1 best of 5 set match in one evening.medinabello15-12-2024