Gian van Veen has reached a notable milestone on the PDC Order of Merit. Without throwing a dart himself, the Dutchman
climbed to second place in the world rankings after overtaking Luke Humphries.
That puts Van Veen in a very select group. Only Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld had previously occupied second place on the PDC Order of Merit for the Netherlands.
Vincent van der Voort calls the achievement impressive and stresses that such a ranking is lasting. “Pretty cool, right? This will always sit next to your name, that highest ranking he’s ever had,” Van der Voort said
on the Darts Draait Door podcast. “It’s just not like he can now go after the world number one, but it’s still a fantastic achievement.”
That last point is no surprise. Luke Littler still leads the world rankings by a wide margin. The gap between the Englishman and Van Veen is more than £2.1 million in ranking prize money, making top spot look out of reach for now.
Third Dutchman ever
Host Damian Vlottes also highlighted Van Veen’s special position. “After Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld, Gian is only the third Dutchman to reach this spot on the Order of Merit.”
Van der Voort can only admire that feat. “That really is very impressive. It’s a fine achievement, and hopefully it does something for him and he starts playing a bit better again.”
Van Veen’s surge comes at a notable moment. After a difficult spell earlier this season, he rediscovered his form in Blackpool. At the World Matchplay he reached the semi-finals, where he was knocked out by Gerwyn Price. A few days later he confirmed that resurgence with another semi-final at Players Championship 26.
More titles needed
Even so, Van der Voort still sees plenty of room for improvement. According to the former professional, the number of titles Van Veen has won still doesn’t reflect his true level.
Damian Vlottes points out that within the current world’s top sixteen, Van Veen is the player with the fewest titles to his name. “It’s impressive that he always goes deep, but it also means he wins too few titles. He should win a semi-final like that and really the whole tournament,” said Vlottes, referring to Players Championship 26. “Names like Justin Hood and Mario Vandenbogaerde were his opponents. As the world number three, you have to win those.”
Van der Voort agrees and calls that the biggest area for improvement in Van Veen’s career. “He wins too little for how good he is. He simply needs to add more titles.”
Yet he immediately adds an important caveat. In his view, second place in the world rankings is no coincidence, but the result of consistent performances over a longer period.
“The numbers don’t lie: he’s earned more than a million pounds in prize money and over the past two years has been better than, for example, Luke Humphries. But he’s not up there for nothing. He’s earned this himself.”