“I put maybe extra pressure on myself”: Gian van Veen hopes to deal with PDC World Darts Championship better this year

For Gian van Veen, the last World Darts Championship ended in a big disappointment after a defeat in his opening match against Man Lok Leung. However, the 22-year-old Dutchman has had an excellent year and recently became world junior champion. He is therefore heading to Alexandra Palace with great confidence.

Van Veen won the World Youth by defeating his compatriot Jurjen van der Velde in the final. Last year, he lost in the World Youth final to Luke Littler. "Yeah, I think both of our careers have gone upwards since then. I think his [Littler's], of course, way more than mine. But I think that's okay," Van Veen said.

"I just take my time. I just want to do my career. Of course, he's doing phenomenal at winning titles, especially on TV, but it's not something I'm comparing myself to.

"I think none of us can really compare to that. I was the favourite going into the final last year, but we both had quite successful years.

Van Veen went to the World Darts Championship last year with high expectations, but then things went wrong in his first match.

"Last year I made the semi-final of the European Championship, and I put maybe extra pressure on myself in the World Championship.

"I want to show everyone what I can do as well. But now it's not the first time "

"I'll hopefully do well in the World Championship. Ally Pally is a special place. When I walked in last year, I got goosebumps," he added.

"Driving up the hill was fantastic in itself. Of course, my World Championship didn't go as planned, but I'm just really looking forward to being back this year, and hopefully it'll be better than last year.

"But it's the second time, so I know what to expect from the stage, from the practice area, from the crowd, and the hotel, everything around it.

"So I think I'll be a lot calmer this year, and it should be a very good tournament. People say, with the Worlds, it's just getting through that first match.

"I want to win my first game. That's the main goal for this year and then we'll see how it goes, take it game by game. I think if I make the last 16, or maybe even quarter-final, I'll be very happy. Very happy with that."