"Shouldn't let it come down to leg difference": Frustrated Gian van Veen laments Grand Slam of Darts group stage exit

Gian van Veen suffered a painful exit from the group stage of the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts. The European champion began the tournament with two victories but fell 5-2 to Josh Rock in his final group match on Tuesday, extinguishing his hopes of reaching the last sixteen.

Van Veen got off to a promising start against Rock at the Grand Slam, immediately breaking the Northern Irishman in the opening leg. However, Rock quickly seized control as Van Veen struggled to maintain his scoring momentum and missed key doubles.

The decisive moment came with Rock leading 3-2, when Van Veen missed three darts to level the match. Rock capitalized ruthlessly, moving to 4-2 and eventually closing out the contest with authority.

“I said it when I lost: if you win then, you shouldn’t let it come down to leg difference,” Van Veen reflected afterwards. “But that does happen. Against Wessel, I gave away unnecessary legs by missing doubles, and on a day like today, you can’t afford to fall short on scoring. Josh was just better, so unfortunately, that’s part of the game.”

Van Veen, who has typically been strong on doubles in previous tournaments, admitted that this aspect of his game let him down in Wolverhampton. “I don’t know how that happened. All year I’ve played very well, including at the European Championship, and now I just couldn’t hit them. But anyway, it’s part of the game, unfortunately.”

Those missed opportunities ultimately proved costly. Van Veen also acknowledged that his first match against Lisa Ashton was a turning point, especially after Rock and Jermaine Nijman both defeated the four-time women’s world champion 5-0.

“That’s very bitter,” Van Veen admitted. “But you know going in that in a group stage like this, it’s always going to be close. Everyone says: everyone will beat Lisa Ashton, and then the other three fight it out. That’s what happened. Unfortunately, I came out on the wrong side. I missed too many chances in that match, and now—three days later—it’s cost me dearly.”