Luke Littler in furious on stage bust-up with Gian van Veen in Manchester

An incident in the deciding-leg of Gian van Veen's Premier League quarter-final victory over Luke Littler has become a huge talking point on social media after tensions flared on stage.

With the score at 5-5, Van Veen needed double 15 to secure a memorable victory over Littler, who came into the game following back-to-back victories in Dublin and Berlin.

He narrowly missed his first attempt and looked towards the Manchester crowd, but after seeing Littler's reaction, he raised his eyebrows – a moment that initially left viewers scratching their heads.

But moments later, after the cameras zoomed out, a furious Littler could be seen throwing his arms into the air. In fact, the teenager gestured at the crowd, who then started to boo Van Veen.

Littler went on to fluff his lines, missing the chance to win after missing double seven, and the Dutchman maintained his composure to secure the points.

Moments later, an awkward handshake followed as fans rushed to social media to give their take on the incident.

One said: "I’m such a huge, huge fan of Littler but I really don’t like to see that. Especially to Gian, probably the nicest bloke on the tour."

A second wrote: "Wtf was Littler’s problem then? Was he saying something about Gian missing the D15 and Gian caught him? Seemed overly aggressive from Littler?! Delighted Van Veen won that!!"

A third commented: "Darts has the highest headloss-per-game ratio of all sports and that's exactly why I love it. Outstanding performance by Luke Littler tonight."

You can also watch the incident in full from 18:05 below.

Gian van Veen reacts to Luke Littler incident in post-match interview

Speaking to Viaplay following his 6-5 victory, Van Veen criticised Littler for his on-stage outburst.

"I’m on 90, I miss double 15 on the inside, and then I see him celebrating towards the crowd," he said.

"I don’t think that’s normal. And then he also makes that crying gesture. He’s a fantastic darts player, but today he showed he’s not a good loser."

He added: "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."

Littler, meanwhile, reposted the above quote from Van Veen on his Instagram story. He also used three laughing emojis to make his feelings abundantly clear.

Thoughts on the incident? Let us know in the comments.