"It felt like I was wasting my parents’ money" - Gian van Veen recalls how dartitis struggles almost ended promising career prematurely

The rise of Gian van Veen is one of the most striking developments in international darts over the past year. The 23-year-old Dutchman won his first major title, climbed into the world’s top ten, and is now openly touted as the player who could succeed Michael van Gerwen in the coming years. Remarkably, that breakthrough came from a darter who was tormented by dartitis for years and even considered quitting.

Although he is now seen as one of the biggest talents behind Luke Littler, Van Veen was barely visible as a youth player. No selections, no haul of trophies, no early hype. The cause lay mainly in his head.

His dartitis took extreme forms. What began as healthy pre-match nerves suddenly turned into a complete block one day. “I was practicing in my bedroom and suddenly couldn’t let go of the dart,” he tells in an in-depth interview with NU.nl. The physical reaction stemmed from a deep-rooted sense of guilt. His parents had paid for all the tournaments and travel for years. “Meanwhile it felt like I was wasting my parents’ money, because I kept coming home with zero euros.”

What once started as something casual in the canteen of VV Zuilichem slowly turned into performance pressure. His carefree approach disappeared. “I was playing for my parents, not for myself. After misses I thought: there goes their money again.”

It led to a period in which he barely made progress. His level plunged to a 65 average, gaming seemed more interesting than practice, and after six consecutive tournaments without prize money he drew his conclusion: “I thought: I’ll just stay an amateur.”

It was precisely in that phase that his career got a second life. During the COVID years the PDC organized online competitions, allowing players to compete from home. It turned out to be the perfect context for Van Veen. No crowd, no travel costs, no pressure.

In his bedroom, with a webcam as the only witness, he beat, among others, former World Championship finalist Simon Whitlock. The wins brought confidence. “It felt like a relief not having to think about my parents’ expenses. Night after night I was throwing past midnight, at the board mounted on the wall of their bedroom.”

His parents heard the darts thudding through the house, but let him carry on. He smiles: “I think I just wasn’t a great talent mentally. I needed those matches at home to realize I could do it.”

Van Veen earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering before choosing the darts life for good. That analytical background sometimes helps him, but just as often works against him. “Intelligence can get in your way too. In darts it’s best not to think and just throw. A lot of other players are better at that.”

Even now the old pattern pops up from time to time. In the European Championship final against Luke Humphries, before his decisive double he first loosened his arm as a precaution. Laughing: “That way I knew for sure it would go in.”

Accusations over his slow routines used to hurt him. “A few years ago at a tournament in Barnsley I was accused of cheating because I took so long. I cried my eyes out.” He has moved past that phase now. “I don’t care anymore what people think of me.”

To banish performance pressure from his life, Van Veen deliberately took out a low mortgage with his girlfriend. “Then I don’t have to perform to be able to pay for the house.” It gives him the freedom he used to lack.

That free mindset fits his ambitions. Bookmakers now rate him higher than Van Gerwen and see him as the logical heir to the throne. He takes a level-headed view. “I’m not afraid of Michael,” he says. “But he has won more than a hundred PDC titles and I have two. I need to win a world title anyway to get anywhere near him.”

The fact that he has never won a World Championship match means little, he says. One good tournament could take him straight into the world’s top five. Even so, his attitude remains relaxed: “I’m not putting pressure on myself. I haven’t forgotten where I come from.”