"Wanted to smack him on the back of the head like: ‘you were just too good tonight": Gian van Veen on playful gesture amid Clayton final loss

In a roaring arena in Glasgow, Gian van Veen reached his second final in three Premier League Darts nights. The evening, however, ended on a sour note for the Dutchman, who went down 6-2 to Jonny Clayton in the decider. Despite the clear scoreline, Van Veen remained level-headed in his assessment. “Scoring-wise I just wasn’t good enough. He was much better on the scoring phase than me.”

From the start of the final, Clayton set the tone with heavy scoring, while Van Veen was too often chasing. Where Van Veen had been able to save himself earlier in the night with his checkouts, that didn’t happen in the final. “Finishing did go well tonight,” he said afterwards in an interview with Viaplay. “But I needed that because I was a bit behind in scoring. Then you can keep up at times with a few good checkouts. Up to the final I managed that really nicely.”

That clinical finishing made an impression. In earlier matches on the night, Van Veen pinched legs that looked lost on paper. It clearly boosted his confidence. “You take a lot of satisfaction from that. And then it’s great to make another final.”

Still, in the decider he could no longer compensate for the scoring gap. “But yes, exactly as I said: up to the final. In the final, the scoring just wasn’t good enough.”

Van Veen reaching another final says a lot about his start in this prestigious competition. Twice into the last two across the first three nights. It shows he can perform consistently among the very best players. “To make the final twice from three nights is simply very good,” said Van Veen. “I’m incredibly proud of that.”

“I also just know for myself where the areas for improvement are. It’s a pity when you don’t show that sometimes, but that’s part of it.” For Van Veen, this is his debut year in the Premier League. Every week he plays in arenas with tens of thousands of spectators. “These are very big venues. Ten, twelve thousand people every week in front of you. You’re absolutely not used to that. But I’m really enjoying it.”

Glasgow also brought a first. “The first time I’ve ever been to Scotland. To be here for your sport, I really enjoy that.”

Since his rise on the world stage, the attention on Van Veen has increased significantly. His World Championship final and his high position on the world rankings have raised expectations. He feels that too.

“There’s definitely a bit of extra pressure,” he admitted. “You have to start tonight against Stephen Bunting. Then people say: you have to win that, because he’s lower in the rankings. But there are so many good players. All eight players here can average 100, 105 or 110. It hardly matters who you play.”

He notices the outside world looks at him differently now. “Now that you’ve made the World Championship final and are high on the world rankings, people expect more from you. You do notice that. But I think I’ve shown well so far what I can do.”

After the lost final, there was another notable moment. When the match was over, Van Veen walked up to Clayton and made a playful gesture as if he wanted to give him a tap. With a smile, he looked back on it. “I held back,” he laughed. “But I wanted to smack him on the back of the head like: ‘you were just too good tonight.’ But I behaved myself.”

There’s no time to dwell on the defeat. The darts schedule is already rolling on. “Tomorrow afternoon we fly on to Poland,” said Van Veen. “100 percent up for it. It’s the first Euro Tour of the year, so I’m looking forward to it.”