'Littler was out of order' - Gian van Veen says Luke Littler is 'not a good loser' after defeating world No 1 in Manchester
Luke Littler mocks Gian van Veen with crying gesture after being accused of celebrating his missed dart as rival calls world champion "out of order" in Thursday night's Premier League in Manchester; you can watch Premier League Darts live on Sky Sports every Thursday
Thursday 2 April 2026 23:24, UK
Gian van Veen has said Luke Littler was "was out of order" after defeating the world No 1 in a fiery Premier League Darts quarter-final encounter in Manchester on Thursday.
Littler surged to the top of the standings with back-to-back victories in Dublin and Berlin and was the big favourite on home soil at the AO Arena, but the 19-year-old's hopes of claiming a third straight Premier League win were ended prematurely by Van Veen.
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Littler, who is a big Manchester United fan and hails from nearby Warrington, failed to hit top form and lost a deciding leg in a tense 6-5 defeat against Dutchman Van Veen.
Van Veen had not won a match since week four of the competition and is still recovering from the kidney stones that forced him to sit out Dublin. But he served notice of his intent as he cruised into a 4-1 lead.
Littler recovered to 4-3 and it appeared Van Veen's chance might have gone when he failed to land a double for the match at 5-3 and back came the world champion to level.
The nerves were clear for Van Veen, who fluffed his lines going for double 15, prompting needle between the pair, with Littler gesturing angrily at his rival only to then surprisingly miss his opportunity.
Van Veen did not allow Littler another visit, and there was a brief handshake between the pair before the home star left the stage.
"I'm on 90, I miss double 15 on the inside, and then I see him celebrating towards the crowd. I don't think that's normal," the 23-year-old Dutch ace told Sky Sports. "And then he also makes that crying gesture.
"He's a fantastic darts player, but today he showed he's not a good loser. Celebrating a miss from your opponent, that really annoys me.
"That's why I gave him a look. The fact he then misses three darts at a double, that's his problem.
"He was celebrating me missing double 15. That's out of order. I was fuming about that and he missed three darts at double seven.
"Then he looked at me like I was the problem. He is probably fuming.
"That's my perspective. His perspective is probably different.
"I love Luke to bits. All the attention he has brought to the sport is phenomenal, but today was my day."
Mardle: Littler got caught with his hand in the cookie jar
"I know exactly what happened," Mardle explained. "Van Veen went inside on D15 and Luke was happy about that so kind of gave it the Simon Whitlock 'well done'.
"You shouldn't do that and as he has done that, Gian has turned around thinking 'why did you do that?'
"I can lip read but I won't repeat what Luke said as I don't want to hand in my notice! You have got to say that Gian handled it better."
Mardle later added: "Luke did something he shouldn't have done and that was giving it this (celebration) but what he didn't expect was Gian to see him.
"He got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He won't be doing that again!"
Littler reacted to his controversial defeat by posting a list of his TV titles with the headline "goodnight, god bless, thank you Manchester" covering up his last 16 exit in the European Championship, in which Van Veen is the current reigning champion.
He also mocked Van Veen's statement saying that Littler's behaviour "was out of place" with three tears of joy emojis.
Price: I don't think there's anything wrong with it
Gerwyn Price, who defeated Van Veen to win the night in Manchester, said the confrontation between the Dutchman and Littler is "part and parcel of darts".
Speaking after his 6-2 victory to rocket up the Premier League table with his second nightly win of the campaign, Price said: "I've been in that situation. That's part and parcel of darts. Emotions are up and down, it's a rollercoaster.
"Sometimes you need to be a bit p***** off and get those reactions, otherwise what's the point? Do you not want to win that much?
"You probably regret some of the things you do. I don't think there's anything wrong with it.
"I've been there. The backlash off it - Luke [Littler] will have a bit of it.
"I've been in that situation and I feel for the kid at the minute."
What's happening on Premier League Night 10 in Brighton
The BetMGM Premier League season continues with Night 10 in Brighton next Thursday, as Michael van Gerwen takes on Van Veen in an all-Dutch showdown.
Luke Humphries and Jonny Clayton go head-to-head in the evening's opener, Gerwyn Price faces Josh Rock, while Littler and Stephen Bunting lock horns in the quarter-finals.
Ranking points are awarded per night - with five to the winner, three to the runner-up and two to the semi-finalists - to form the league table from which the top four players will progress to Finals Night at The O2 in London on Thursday May 28.
Who will win this year's Premier League Darts? Luke Humphries will be defending his title and you can watch the action every single Thursday until May on Sky Sports. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
