"Twice, right? Then you don't learn from it either" - Surprise over frustrations at Michael Smith

During the recent episode of the podcast Darts Draait Door, two remarkable moments from the Grand Slam of Darts were discussed in detail: the self-inflicted head injury of Michael Smith and the elimination of Gian van Veen despite two wins in the group stage. Both Van Veen and co-host Vincent van der Voort shared their views on the incidents and the set-up of the tournament.

The conversation began with the remarkable performance of Smith, who suffered two cuts to his forehead in Wolverhampton by going along his skin with his own dart tip. Presenter Damian Vlottes responded with surprise, "I saw someone open his thumb a few weeks ago, but your forehead..."

The table included Gian van Veen, who responded to the incident with a wink. "That's clever, too. Twice, right? Then you don't learn from it either." Smith's incident reminded van Veen of his own situation at the EC, where he played through with a bleeding thumb. Vlottes asked him if that had happened before, for example during training sessions. Van Veen replied, "Not really to the point of bleeding, not that. Painful, though, but not as bad as it was now."

Vincent van der Voort, former professional and regular table guest, was asked if he had ever faced anything similar in his career. "No, not with my point. But I bump my head regularly, so then it opens up again. That bothers me a lot." With that, the darter from Purmerend indicated that physical discomfort is sometimes simply part of the sport, even at the top level.

During the conversation, the now infamous towel that Van Veen used during the European Championships to wipe the blood off his thumb also came up for discussion. Vlottes wanted to know if he still owned it. Van Veen replied that the towel - washed - is still in use. "Well, it's actually kind of a collector's item, of course," Vlottes responded. "You have one of those bills in soccer that gets passed around. That's the towel you won the European Championship with, isn't it? All full of blood."

Van Veen indicated he has no plans to save the towel, but is considering securing his shirt and arrows from the European Championships for the future. Those arrows, by the way, are no longer used. "Those are not silver, but a little red. And on the shirt there is a red stain as well."

Van Veen further discussed his elimination at the Grand Slam of Darts, where he failed to advance despite two wins in the group stage. He defeated both Wessel Nijman and Lisa Ashton 5-4, but fell short on leg balance due to a 5-2 defeat to Josh Rock.

"Yes, it was also sour," Van Veen said. That Ashton, the lowest ranked player in the group, almost cost him points played a crucial role. "You know it can happen with a pool like that and with Ashton there. You don't assume she's going to win a match."

Ashton indeed lost hopelessly to both Nijman and Rock (both 5-0), but made it surprisingly difficult for Van Veen. That brought up the question for Vlottes whether one game against the weakest player is too much of an impact.

Van der Voort responded soberly: "Yes, there are certain sports, then they take that match out and look at those three among themselves. I don't know if it would have turned out very differently, but those are choices. But yes, then we'll get everyone all over us again that Lisa Ashton doesn't count."

Moreover, he pointed out that players are in control. "You're just supposed to beat Ashton 5-1 or 5-0. But that's like, like, like. This is where you run into it. You shouldn't take it too hard. You fly out with two wins, that can happen once in a while. It's not like it goes wrong structurally, right?"

Van Veen concurred: "Look, I was really bummed about it. But then once you get home, it's also what Vincent says, yes. Don't take it too hard, I just showed an excellent level."

Starting in 2026, the format of the Grand Slam will change. The group stage will then consist of three players per group, with only the number one advancing to the knockouts.