Gian Van Veen Reveals How He Suffered Bizarre Injury That Caused Board Change
Gian van Veen has revealed how he suffered a bizarre injury against Luke Littler in the World Darts Championship final that caused the board to be changed.
Littler made light work of Van Veen in Saturday's World Darts Championship final, beating him 7-1 to secure back-to-back world titles.
'The Nuke', however, lost the opening set, with the 23-year-old leading 2-0 in legs in the second set.
But the 18-year-old phenom took control of the showdown and won seven sets on the spin to win the second world title of his already legendary career.
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It was somewhat of an anti-climax given Van Veen's absolute thriller against Gary Anderson in the previous round, with the clash producing one of the greatest sets in darts history.
Littler vs. Van Veen, though, did produce some viral moments on the Ally Pally stage, including a hilarious wasp incident.
Not to mention a rare change of the board.
After Littler won the sixth set to make it 5-1, referee George Noble opted to change the board after Van Veen accidentally left a spec of blood on it.
Noble, who was refereeing his final game of darts, appeared to ask both players if they wanted to change it before momentarily stopping the clash to change the board.
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Speaking in his post-match press conference, Van Veen explained how an incident with the toilet door left his pinky bloodied.
Asked about the 'unusual' change of the board, the Dutchman replied: "Yeah, it was. Luke said it to me as well, 'what's happening'."
He added: "My left pinky hit the door of the toilet in the break. I went to the toilet, I got stuck with my left pinky on the door, so I ripped it open, and then my pinky hit the board. So, there was some blood on the board, so the PDC wanted to change the board. It's not really usual, of course.
"Luckily it was my left hand so it didn't affect my game whatsoever."
Van Veen enjoyed a fantastic campaign at the World Darts Championship, having previously never won a game at the tournament.
He beat former world champions Luke Humphries and Anderson, becoming the new Dutch No.1 in the process.
Despite failing to push Littler all the way, Van Veen was proud to reach the final.
"No, he definitely wasn't in the mood to give me anymore chances. He played phenomenal. He put me under pressure every leg, every set, and I missed too many chances today to make it a game," he said on stage after losing to Littler.
"He's a fantastic player which is why he's world number one by a margin now. That's why he's back-to-back world champion.
"I would have liked to pick up the title, but I would have liked to give Luke a game and that's what I didn't do. I lost too many legs and I missed too many chances. Looking back at this tournament I'm very proud to have got to the final. Number three in the world and Dutch number one.
"I'm very proud of this achievement but also disappointed."
Topics: Darts, World Darts Championship
Nasir Jabbar