PDC World Darts Championship finalist Gian van Veen once burst into tears after being accused of cheating by an opponent.
On Friday (January 2), 23-year-old Dutchman Van Veen reached his first-ever PDC World Darts Championship final after beating two-time world champion Gary Anderson 6-3 in the semi-finals at Alexandra Palace.
Meanwhile, 2025 champion Luke Littler reached the final of the competition for the third successive year as he beat 20th seed Ryan Searle 6-1.
Van Veen, a two-time World Youth champion, comes into the match against Littler as an underdog despite claiming his first major PDC title with a win in the European Championship in October.
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But like most top-level sportspeople, Van Veen has had to overcome adversity in his career, having struggled with Dartitis – a condition which prevents players from releasing their darts.
Other notable sufferers include Eric Bristow, Nathan Aspinall, and Beau Greaves.
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And Van Veen was even accused of cheating during one game on the Challenge Tour, which caused him to cry his eyes out once he returned to the dressing room.
Speaking on Tops & Tales Darts Podcast, Van Veen explained: “I still remember one game on the Challenge Tour when I first got Dartitis, and my opponent was angry at me because he thought I was doing it on purpose.
“I was in tears, crying my eyes out in the middle of Barnsley Metrodome because I was struggling so badly. And for my opponent to tell me I was cheating or something — it was heartbreaking.”
Van Veen suffered badly from Dartitis in 2020 and 2021 during his third Q School and admitted that he “struggled” the whole time and claimed he was “playing so slow”.
The Dutchman eventually got rid of the condition by telling himself, ‘You’re not going to release the dart until you’re 100% sure you’re going to hit the target,’ a technique which helped him grow in confidence.
But what caused Van Veen to suffer from Dartitis?
Well, Van Veen put it down to anxiety and being “scared of losing”.
The 23-year-old explained: “In my head, especially when I was on a double, I’d think: ‘What happens if you miss? People won’t laugh at you, but they’ll think things. You might let people down. Your family. Yourself.’ And when all that’s going through your mind, you’re not going to release it — because you don’t want to miss.”
Van Veen will be hoping to secure his first-ever World Championship crown and the £1 million prize come Saturday evening.
Topics: Darts, Luke Littler
Luke Davies