“He was genuinely very good, so I can live with it” – Gian van Veen accepts second place at the World Darts Championship

Gian van Veen has accepted his runner-up finish at the World Darts Championship. The Dutchman had to concede at Alexandra Palace to Luke Littler, who claimed the title in dominant fashion. Van Veen was understandably disappointed, but in his analysis ‘GVV The Giant’ could only admit that Littler was simply better.

With the runner-up trophy in hand, Van Veen appeared in front of Viaplay’s camera afterwards. “It’s a bit smaller than I’d hoped,” he said with a wry smile. Then came the immediate sporting acknowledgement. “He was just the better player tonight. Very frustrating.”

That frustration stemmed mainly from the contrast with the rest of the tournament. Van Veen had reached the final with convincing wins over the likes of Luke Humphries and Gary Anderson and had been in excellent form in recent weeks. Precisely for that reason, the one-sided final hit hard. “I played a very good tournament, but today was a bit less,” he concluded.

According to Van Veen, the difference wasn’t about nerve or mindset, but details that are decisive at this level. “My first dart often didn’t land in treble 20,” he explained. “And he fires one 180 after another. And then you know: he’s not going to choke, he’s not going to miss.”

Where Van Veen had ruthlessly punished chances in earlier matches, he was now just a step behind. The Dutchman had opportunities to pull away early, but failed to take them. “I missed chances to go 2-0 up in sets,” he acknowledged. That moment proved crucial in hindsight, because Littler then took control for good.

Van Veen watched as the reigning world champion kept raising his level. The scoring never let up, the checkouts landed at the right moments, and every glimmer of hope was quickly snuffed out. “Then you just know it’s going to be very difficult,” said Van Veen, who noticed that Littler never wavered.

Even so, Van Veen didn’t want to reduce his final to pure disappointment. Paradoxical as it sounded, he looked back on his Worlds with pride. “I’m frustrated that it didn’t happen tonight, but he was simply the best player,” he said. “As crazy as it sounds, I’m proud of this tournament. He was really very good tonight, so I can live with it.”