"The last time they were there was in Poland" - Gian van Veen supported by his parents in tough Amsterdam victory

Gian van Veen is in the World Series of Darts Finals quarter-finals for the first time but was made to work for it after a tremendous performance by Karel Sedlacek. The home favourite averaged 101.52 and hit 53% of his doubles on the outer ring to prevail 10-7 and set up a clash against Dirk van Duijvenbode on Sunday in Amsterdam.

It was remarkably tight throughout, with both players lashing blows to each other. Five consecutive breaks of throw saw Sedlacek respond again and again, but eventually van Veen managed to back up his latest break with a hold. He pinned double 16 to win the match, with earlier checkouts of 160 and 147 making for a very commendable showing.

In most scenarios, 'The Giant' would have waltzed away from his opponent, but Sedlacek kept fighting and made a real match of it. Van Veen was satisfied with his performance and the win after speaking to Viaply afterwards.

"In terms of the level, definitely. But I did expect that if I threw like that, I would shake him off earlier," he said. "But that didn’t happen. Karel threw a fantastic match. Every time he was scoring, he was putting me under pressure and I was back on a finish after nine darts. Well, you’ve still got six darts. He was just next to me after nine darts. He was really, really good. I’m glad I could put something up against that today as well."

Van Veen can walk away from the oche proud of himself. Not only prevailing as he looks for a second PDC major title, but he defeated someone averaging over 103 with seven 180s thrown into the mix.

He got a lot of enjoyment from this, but that was not felt throughout the match. "Afterwards, yes. During the match, maybe not," he admitted.

"Look, it’s nice that you win 10-7, but I’d rather win 10-1 or 10-2 with that kind of game. But when you look back, it does give you more satisfaction. Because you know your opponent is putting you under pressure and you just have to take out a few finishes. You take them all out as well. And then it does give you more confidence and more satisfaction afterwards."

The match was very even throughout. When van Veen got that break, he still had 'Evil Charlie' clawing away behind him. "He just threw a really good match. He put me under pressure every leg. And he also won a few legs where I wasn’t anywhere near him. At one point, I saw on the screen that it was saying that we were at least equal, or maybe even higher.

"He put me under pressure in every leg that I won. And in the legs that he won occasionally, I was still a little bit behind. That’s just down to him. But yeah, that’s also the kind of timing you need."

For the first time in a while, van Veen had his parents watching on live in the arena. It was a special feeling to perform and win in front of them on home soil. "The last time they were there was in Poland. And I had the final on the European Tour. Before that, it was the World Championship final," he commented.

"Yeah, I lost that one. They’re not there very often, that’s true. But they said beforehand that they couldn’t be here on Thursday evening. But they said, 'If you win, we’ll be there on Saturday afternoon.' And yeah, that’s obviously great for me as well. That they’re there for once and that I then throw well and win. And yeah, I hope they had a great afternoon."

It would have been a special feeling for them to hear the packed crowd changing their son's name, maybe even a little bizarre. "I think so too, yeah. I’ll ask them about that as well. But I can imagine it. Because I think I’d probably feel the same if I had children. But even as players ourselves, you still get goosebumps sometimes when that happens on the stage. And yeah, it’s not something you get used to quickly, no."

Van Veen will return to the big stage against fellow Dutchman van Duijvenbode in what will be a thrilling tie. Either Josh Rock or Ross Smith will play the winner in the semi-final.