“That really dented my confidence” – Gian van Veen admits mistake in his recovery period after surgery earlier this year

Gian van Veen swept past Chris Dobey to reach the second round of the World Series of Darts Finals. The Dutchman won 6-2 at AFAS Live, even though he felt he wasn’t at his best. That in itself gave Van Veen plenty of confidence afterward.

“It was a strange match,” Van Veen told Viaplay. “I started really well with a 12-darter in the first leg. After that my scoring was hard to find. A lot of darts dropped under the treble, but Chris had that too. That gives you confidence. Even if you don’t feel great, you see your opponent is struggling as well.”

Van Veen also let a few chances slip on the doubles. “You make it harder on yourself by missing some doubles. Especially that D8, which slipped and went into D16. But in the end it was a solid win and fairly comfortable.”

His previous surgery also came up afterward. Physically, Van Veen no longer feels any issues, but mentally that period lingered longer. “Physically, definitely not. Maybe still a little bit mentally,” he explained. “I had that operation and I think I just started back too soon. I’ve said that before. I went to Berlin too early for that Premier League night. That dented my confidence. It took me months to recover from that.”

Van Veen now sees clear improvement. “Physically I feel great. I feel good in myself and lately it’s been going a lot better. I’m throwing well again.”

Even on a night that didn’t feel great, his numbers held up. “Even tonight I felt it wasn’t fantastic. Then you look left at the screen and you’re still averaging 96 or 97. A few months ago that would have been 88 or 89.”

That may be the key gain for Van Veen. “Some darts drifted too far on the scoring, but it gives me confidence that you still win comfortably with a decent performance. Honestly, four or five months ago I would have lost this match. For me that’s a big step forward. I’m really happy with that.”

Playing at home brings both benefits and added pressure for Van Veen. “Both,” he admitted. “I’m never outstanding in the Netherlands. I think I always put too much pressure on it, especially with the Premier League in Ahoy.”

This time he tried a different approach. Van Veen played the final match of the night and saw Michael van Gerwen lose earlier. “When Michael lost, I thought: oh, the crowd might not be that positive. So I really tried to focus on the match.”

That proved unnecessary. The Amsterdam crowd got fully behind Van Veen. “Once the crowd starts chanting your name, that really gives you an extra lift.”