“I’m always in Luke Littler’s shadow… that’s fine, I love being in the shadows” – Gian van Veen lays down a marker with first World Darts Championship win

The relief was tangible, the emotion genuine and the sense of release unmistakable. Gian van Veen has finally broken through on the PDC World Darts Championship stage. On his third appearance at Alexandra Palace, the reigning European Champion delivered when it mattered most, defeating Cristo Reyes 3-1 with a near 99 average, six 180s and a performance defined as much by mental resilience as scoring power.

In doing so, Van Veen lifted a weight that had followed him through previous visits to Ally Pally. This time, there was no painful exit, no lingering doubt, just a long awaited first win on darts’ biggest stage. In the next round, he will face the winner of the match between Alan Soutar and Teemu Harju.

“It’s difficult, you know,” Van Veen said afterwards, where Dartsnews.com were present for his press conference. “First win on this stage, it’s phenomenal. Coming in here as European Champion and world number 10, but having never won a game here before, it’s a totally different tournament.”

Remarkably, the nerves only arrived late. “Leading up to this tournament I wasn’t nervous at all,” he explained. “But in the ten minutes before the game started I was really nervous. I kept thinking, ‘Okay, you need to get over the line today,’ because otherwise it’s going to be a problem for next year and the years after. Luckily I played well today. I needed to, because Cristo played phenomenally as well.”

The numbers told their own story, but the contest was anything but routine. Van Veen flew through the opening two sets before Reyes began to apply real pressure.

“The first two sets were good, it felt like plain sailing,” he said. “But then Cristo started hitting his finishes and that put me under pressure.”

With the match tightening, memories of earlier disappointments surfaced.

“I was thinking, ‘Don’t go back to two all now,’ because I’ve been there two years ago when I went two nil up and then lost 3-2. That’s what I really didn’t want,” he admitted. “But luckily in the end I got it done.”

According to Van Veen, it was a genuine test of character and one that could prove decisive.

“Even more confidence than I would have hoped for today,” he said. “Of course you always want to win your first game, and even if I had averaged 84 and won, I would be smiling here. But the way I won today, winning a high quality match under pressure, dealing with that pressure well, gives me massive confidence going into round two.”

In the build up to the World Championship, Van Veen’s European title was often accompanied by an uncomfortable statistic. Despite his rise, he had never previously won a match on the World Championship stage, a fact that followed him into almost every interview.

“A massive bit, yeah,” he said when asked how much it played on his mind. “Leading up to this tournament I did about 20 media interviews and I think all 20 people said to me, ‘You’ve not won a game here before.’ That’s part of life, but of course it gave me extra pressure.”

That made the breakthrough all the sweeter.

“The way Cristo played put me under even more pressure, but that makes it even more satisfying to get that first victory,” Van Veen said. “It did get nerve wracking in the end, but the 180 in the last leg really settled the nerves and helped me get over the line.”

With that milestone finally ticked off, his focus now shifts forward.

“Now that I’ve done that, I’ve got massive confidence going into the rest of the tournament,” he said. “We’ll see where we can go.”

Van Veen has long been labelled as one to watch, a reputation he accepts cautiously rather than embraces.

“It’s nice to be named as one to watch,” he said. “But for myself I just want as little pressure as possible. I like being under the radar.”

That outlook is reinforced by the presence of a generational contemporary.

“There’s one guy who’s world number one at the moment who came up at the same time as me,” Van Veen said. “So I’m always in Luke Littler’s shadow. That’s fine for me. I love being in the shadows, just continuing my own career. It’s been working perfectly so far.”

Interestingly, Van Veen admitted the pressure on this World Championship stage felt even greater than during the European Championship final he won earlier this year.

“Today was even more pressure,” he explained. “In a major final you’re already in the groove of the tournament and you feel like you’ve got nothing to lose. Today everyone was expecting me to win, and I was expecting myself to win as well. That made it totally different pressure.”

That experience, however, proved invaluable.

“Winning that final against Luke Humphries 11-10 under such pressure gave me huge belief,” Van Veen said. “I know I can do it in those moments. Even today, when I was under pressure, I knew I was capable of dealing with it.”

For Van Veen, the meeting with Cristo Reyes also carried personal significance.

“I started watching darts when I was about 10 or 11,” he said. “I knew Cristo and what a fantastic player he was. Six years ago I was only dreaming of being on this stage, and now we played each other.”

He prepared for the toughest possible version of his opponent.

“I prepared myself for the best version of him,” Van Veen said. “Averaging around 95 or higher, and I knew I would have to be better. He averaged around 96 or 97 today, so I really needed to play well.”

With the first barrier cleared, his objectives have now shifted.

“Before this tournament, the main goal was to win a first round match,” Van Veen said. “I’ve achieved that. Now the goal is to make it past Christmas.”

Last year, he reached the second round without playing as a seeded player.

“This feels totally different,” he added. “Now I’m really part of the tournament.”