Gian van Veen may be an unfamiliar name if you don’t watch darts regularly.
The 22-year-old won his Tour Card at the start of 2023 and has made six Players Championship semi-finals on the tour.
He made his World Matchplay debut earlier this month, succumbing to Rob Cross in the opening round 13-12 despite averaging in three figures.
This performance has put many people on notice and highlighted his potential danger in other majors in the latter half of 2024.
Van Veen’s stunning debut performance in Blackpool is a precursor of what’s to come and was not unexpected to those who have followed the youngster.
Luke Littler has taken spotlight from Gian van Veen
Fans always want to see a youngster upset the old guard and ruffle some feathers.
The sensational World Championship run of Luke Littler has allowed Van Veen to go under the radar and do damage without the attention.
The two young arrowsmiths battled on a TV stage weeks before Alexandra Palace in the World Youth final, where ‘The Nuke’ narrowly won 6-4.
To that point, the Dutchman had an outstanding 2023 and reached the semi-final of the European Championship by beating Michael van Gerwen.
His consistent tour performances combined with this run have propelled him into the top 32, and with six more months of defending nothing from his rankings, the sky is the limit.
His arsenal consists of a litany of 180s aided by his understacking technique, and in the age of power scorers he can – and has – upset the biggest names on the biggest stages.
Maturity beyond his years will aid rapid rise
Van Veen missed six match darts in his epic against Cross at the Winter Gardens.
Many young players would struggle to process this mentally.
Littler, for example, brandished his own defeat to Van Gerwen as ‘embarrassing’ in a now-deleted Instagram post despite averaging over a ton.
‘GVV’ had no such knee-jerk reaction, however.
I briefly chatted with Van Veen backstage after the loss and though disappointed, he was upbeat about his performance.
He recognised his display was near his A-game on one of the brightest stages against a star name and was able to take the positives.
Players learn a lot about themselves in defeat, and Van Veen’s admirable reaction to his loss in heartbreaking circumstances makes him a threat moving forward.
Painful defeats in the past have derailed young players, but all the signs suggest the Dutchman will use it as motivation to do damage later this year.
Don’t be surprised to see the 22-year-old lift a big trophy soon – very soon!