Luke Littler warned to 'prepare for worst' as Gian van Veen 'crybaby' row set to escalate

Luke Littler is set to walk into the lion's den on Thursday when the Premier League Darts roadshow stops in Rotterdam. The 19-year-old will be bracing himself for the orange gauntlet, two weeks after his spat with the Netherlands star Gian van Veen.

The Warrington-born darts sensation hit the headlines for the wrong reasons after his semi-final exit to Van Veen in Manchester on April 2. Littler and the 23-year-old had become embroiled in an on-stage disagreement which spilt over into interviews and social media , with the visit to Holland, on Thursday, threatening the incident would boil over into a third week.

The Nuke will be looking to bounce back from his quarter-final disappointment to Stephen Bunting after charting his lowest televised average in the disappointment. Littler was subjected to a barrage of abuse and jeers last Thursday at Brighton, throwing the two-time world champion off-kilt, but AD.nl sports reporter Tim Hartman has warned that the worst is yet to come.

“I'm afraid for Luke it will [be a worse reception than Brighton], because you see it in the reactions of the articles and also on social media, a lot of the Dutch fans are saying to each other, 'we will whistle and we will boo him, he can prepare for the worst'," Hartman said speaking to Mirror Sport .

"I think Luke is prepared for the worst he said this week. I think in terms of supporting, it will not be the best evening of his life, I'm afraid."

The incident with Van Veen was sparked during the latter stages of their semi-final in Manchester, with the Dutchman eventually coming out on top.

However, in the hours after the incident, the world number one took to social media, deepening the rift. Littler shared a story on his Instagram , calling Van Veen a "crybaby" before showcasing his trophy-laden two years on the PDC circuit after the Dutchman felt his opponent was "out of order" for "celebrating towards the crowd".

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Littler was accused of being unprofessional after celebrating missed checkouts by his opponent, something the 19-year-old has since moved to rectify the incident citing that his fist-pump was aimed towards his girlfriend , lobbying fresh accusations towards his opponent about placing darts down.

The pair had the chance to meet in the semi-final last week but defeats to Bunting and Michael van Gerwen denied the prospect of a mouthwatering encounter between the two.

However, Littler will step out on Van Veen's home turf on Thursday with the intention of claiming a fourth nightly win and return to the top of the Premier League Darts table, after Jonny Clayton's phenomenal showing on the south coast saw him retake top spot.

Hartman believes the incident with Van Veen hasn't helped Littler and told the Nuke that he picked on the wrong person after taking aim at the "Dutch teddy bear".

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Hartman said: "I don't think it [the spat] has been to the advantage of Luke. In Holland, every article I wrote about it, the last week or two weeks, the reactions were, 'we have to boo him in Rotterdam, he has to prepare for it, it will not be a good evening' for him.

"A lot of Dutch fans think Luke has gone too far. Especially as everyone likes Gian and he's like a Dutch teddy bear for the people. I think If it was against someone else, [it would not be as bad] the behaviour is still not good, but I think it's even worse because he did it against Gian.

“I think the biggest problem for the Dutch fans is that there were no excuses afterwards because in the Netherlands we say what we think, like Michael van Gerwen he's always saying what he thinks, the Dutch people like that.

"But I think Luke, there's a difference between saying what you think and a little bit of arrogance. I think he picked the wrong person with Gian. Especially the reaction that Luke said Gian was also not respectful by laying his darts down. I can't imagine why he feels that way about it, but I don't think that is a story the Dutch fans will believe."

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