Gian van Veen admits homeland 'pressure got to me' in past but ready for Dutch glory after Euro Tour record average

COMFORTABLE Gian Van Veen reckons homeland pressure won't derail his bid for Euro Tour glory.

The Netherlands star headlines the list of local heroes in Maastricht on Sunday looking to land the Dutch Darts Championship.

Van Veen displayed wondrous wellbeing in his own backyard when he set a Euro Tour record average during his second-round hammering of Sebastian Bialecki.

The 24-year-old admits that, in the past, the strain of trying to deliver on home soil has hindered him. However, with experiences under his belt, that's all gone now as proven with his demolition of Bialecki.

Van Veen knows it has been a factor before as he said: "I've shown in the past couple of years in the Netherlands on the European Tour. Last year I lost on the Friday to Boris Krcmar when he played phenomenal and I played terrible because the pressure got to me."

But things have changed as he continued: "Now I think I have grown so much as a player. I played in Rotterdam, of course, in the Premier League, in Amsterdam for the World Series Finals and now here. I don't feel it as pressure anymore, I only feel it as a boost and because also I have grown so much in confidence in the last couple of weeks and I think that has showed today [ against Bialecki]. Long may it continue."

Image: Jenny Segers/PDC Europe