"It would actually have been news if I had not won that Tour Card": Van Veen delighted to achieve pre Q-School goal

Gian van Veen recently captured a PDC Tour Card for the next two years at Q-School. For the 20-year-old Dutchman, this did not really come as a surprise.

"It would actually have been news if I had not won that Tour Card," Van Veen opens to AD.nl.

Burden off shoulders

"Happy? Yes, I was happy to get that Tour Card. But even more a burden fell off my shoulders. Many followers thought Van Veen was one of the top favourites to win a Tour Card. "Nice that people think that of you. But it definitely creates a lot of extra pressure. It's easy to say beforehand that you're just going to 'do it for a while', but when you're standing there it really is a different kettle of fish," said Van Veen.

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Van Veen eventually finished ninth in the Q-School rankings, enough for a Tour Card. "The atmosphere in the venue did change on the last day. Normally, there was plenty of banter between darters, but on the last day most of them were a bit introverted. In my opinion, that doesn't quite work. You just have to do your thing, like you always do. I did notice there that the tension was full on."

"The World Championship is also already my main goal now," Van Veen continued. "I'm already looking forward to that. It's my dream, I'd love to be on the stage in London at the end of this year."

Studies

Van Veen is studying aeronautical engineering and will combine those studies with a darts career. , "That's going to be busy, yes. But it will all work out. I'm up for it. I want to get my degree, and at the same time do well as a dart player. I think those two things can go together."