Luke Littler has yet to speak to Gian van Veen since on-stage spat

By Jonathan Veal, Press Association

Luke Littler admits he has yet to talk to Gian van Veen since their Manchester bust-up, but insists the matter is finished.

The pair were involved in an on-stage spat in the Premier League three weeks ago, with the back-to-back world champion accused of celebrating when his opponent missed a match dart.

There was a frosty handshake at the end of the match and some afters on social media, with both players since doubling down on their versions of events.

Littler says he has not cleared the air with the Dutchman, but is looking forward to a rematch.

“No, we’ve not spoken. I’m not the type of person to go up and talk to him or something like that,” the 19-year-old said.

“Maybe he’s waiting for me to go and talk to him, but I’m not the type of person to do that, even in the practice room, people will talk to me first.

“I’m not the type of person to be chatting away.

“We can obviously settle it on the darts board, but back stage, it’s just been normal and been the same preparation-wise.

“I think he’s forgotten about it. I’ve forgotten about it. I moved on the day after, went on holiday.”

Gian van Veen explains the heated ending to his Premier League Darts quarter-final match with Luke Littler 💬 pic.twitter.com/Rnm5YjWtAY

— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) April 2, 2026

Littler is feeling the after-effects of the dispute, with fans turning on him since it happened.

He received a hostile reaction in Rotterdam last week and was again on the wrong end of an unwelcoming atmosphere in Liverpool on Thursday, though he did silence the boo-boys with an impressive nightly win, beating Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Jonny Clayton on the way to victory.

There has been plenty of discourse about Littler’s actions in Manchester, but he insists he has no regrets over the incident.

“No, I don’t regret anything,” Littler said. “Obviously, I have my opinion, he’s got his opinion, so we’re all entitled to it.

“I think we’ve both moved on with our game on stage, but off stage, obviously we’ve not spoken.

“It has been a tough couple weeks, but I just had to get on with it.

“Just playing darts, that’s what I’ve done now, winning this night gives me confidence.”

Success on the banks of the Mersey will mean more to Littler than most of his many victories.

He has never enjoyed the warmest of welcomes in the city, mainly because he is a Manchester United fan and has been quick to mock the Anfield club’s fortunes on social media.

But he says the reception was nothing compared to what he faced in Van Veen’s home territory of Rotterdam last week.

“If it gets worse than that, then something’s wrong,” he added.

“Rotterdam was far worse than tonight. I even proved to people last week that I can win games under those circumstances.

“There was no anxiety, I just expected the worst, but it wasn’t worse than Rotterdam. That’s the worst I’ve experienced.”