"He’s closer to Littler than Van Gerwen was last year" - Van der Voort believes in world title prospects of Gian van Veen

In the latest episode of the WK Darts Draait Door podcast, Vincent van der Voort and Damien Vlottes looked back on a historic night at Alexandra Palace. Gian van Veen wrote a new chapter in Dutch darts history by reaching the final of the PDC World Darts Championship for the first time in his career.

Van der Voort visibly enjoyed his semi-final against Gary Anderson. Not just the standard, but especially the way Van Veen did it. “I thought it was a truly fantastic match,” he said. “How Gian played that match, from start to finish: really superb. And he fully deserved to win.” Anderson did everything to turn the match around. “There were spells where he was brilliant on scoring and still Gian had the answer. Just great to watch.”

Vlottes immediately put the achievement into historical context: Van Veen is only the third Dutchman to reach the PDC World Championship final. That puts him in a list that until now was exclusive to Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld. “He simply joins the list with Van Gerwen and Van Barneveld,” Vlottes stated.

Van der Voort agreed. “Yes, absolutely. That’s such a major achievement. And he’s still so young, there’s so much more to come. Words fail with this performance.”

Neither Van der Voort nor Vlottes expected it to happen this quickly. “If I’m very honest, I didn’t think this would come so soon,” said Vlottes. Van der Voort responded immediately: “No, no, no. But no one really saw this coming.”

Van der Voort recalled that Van Veen has also been through a difficult time, including dartitis. That’s exactly why he finds it so striking how mature and controlled Van Veen now looks. He also outlined a key difference from some other stars who broke through: Van Veen did not arrive as a mega-talent who had been tipped for years as a future world champion.

“It’s not like he’s this mega-talent breaking through or something, he never was,” said Van der Voort. “But he has developed so much.” That development, he believes, is not only in his throwing but also in how Van Veen approaches his profession. “He’s also very professional. And the way he deals with the media and the things he says, he comes across as very mature.”

Vlottes pressed on, because Van Veen also impressed in a media moment with his comments about Michael van Gerwen. Van der Voort felt Van Veen struck exactly the right tone. “He basically said all the right things. That’s how we know him: whether he’s speaking to the English press, the Dutch press, wherever he is.”

What stood out most was that it didn’t sound rehearsed. “He comes across very naturally. I also don’t get the sense he’s acting. He’s actually very relaxed about everything. Even though so much is coming his way. And that’s admirable.”

Against Gary Anderson, Van Veen not only faced a top darter, but also a crowd that increasingly turned against him as the match went on. When Van Veen pulled too far ahead, the crowd started to get involved. “As the match went on, when he got too far in front, the crowd started to get involved,” said Van der Voort. The dangerous moment came when Anderson clawed his way back into the match. “Then he got close at 4-3.”

Afterward, Van Veen admitted he briefly thought it might slip through his fingers because of that. “He also said in the interview: I was a little afraid I might lose the match because of it,” said Van der Voort. “Fortunately that didn’t happen and he beat Anderson on merit.”

That ‘beating him on merit’ was not only down to scoring power, but especially mental strength. Vlottes pointed to moments when Van Veen took hits—also through missed set darts—and still didn’t break. Van der Voort: “He was there again in the next leg. As if it didn’t affect him.”

Of course form plays a role, he admitted. “I know all that. But it’s also class. If you can do that, then you’re the real deal. We’ve had a lot of players in history who had a very good tournament. And when they faced something like this, it collapsed… Or they had an error. And he simply didn’t suffer from that.”

In Van der Voort’s eyes, Van Veen behaved like a seasoned pro. “He handled it like someone who’s been doing this for years. That he knows exactly what to do to turn it around again.”

What’s remarkable is that you could barely see the tension on his face. “He just stays so relaxed. That’s special too. You only really saw after the match how much pressure there was. During the match you hardly saw it at all.”

Where does that calm come from? Van der Voort believes Van Veen has played the entire tournament with a conviction he didn’t previously have at this level. “I think that European Championship gave him so much confidence. That he knows he can beat anyone.”

And then there’s that one match that can act as a mental turbo: the win over Luke Humphries. “If you just beat the world number two 5-1… and you’re mentally better in every aspect too: that obviously gives you a good feeling.”

In the match against Anderson, the standard was often insanely high, with legs flying by at blistering speed. Van der Voort referred to a set in which both men played at the peak of their powers. “There were just four legs finished within twelve darts.” And yet, even when Anderson played fantastically for three or four sets in a row, he only won two. “So that shows how good Gian was. In the key moments.”

According to Van der Voort, the difference also lay in something you often see with great champions: deciding legs. “Every time a fifth leg is played, he throws a strong leg. He also just starts with 180 very often. Yes, that’s bizarre too. It means you’re in a good place mentally.”

Anderson’s sportsmanship also stood out to him. He didn’t get grumpy or snappy. “You could see Anderson too: he didn’t get irritated or anything like that. He simply did everything he could to win. And he just ran into someone who was that bit better.”

If Van Veen hits this level again, he can really turn the final into a battle. Van der Voort offered a percentage estimate beforehand: “I think beforehand it’s 60-40 in Littler’s favor.”

But Van Veen is certainly not without a chance. “I also don’t think he’s very far off,” said Van der Voort. The key question: can he produce it again? “Can he reproduce what he did today? Yes, then it becomes very difficult for Littler as well.”

Vlottes also asked whether Van Veen is closer to Littler than Michael van Gerwen was last year in their final. Van der Voort answered without hesitation: “Yes, definitely.” He explained why: Van Veen, in his view, plays much freer and, above all, more consistently at a high level. “All his averages are over a hundred and scoring. He’s simply closer than Van Gerwen was last year.”