VAN VEEN BLINDSIDED BY BELGIUM CROWD

GIAN VAN VEEN concedes the crowd took him by surprise as his Antwerp dream night turned sour. 

World No.3 Van Veen was left kicking himself after missing a match dart at the bull in a dramatic 6-5 defeat to Gerwyn Price during Week Two of the Premier League.

‘The Giant’ admitted he hadn’t anticipated that the fans in the AFAS Dome would be so decisively behind Price during the bout.

But Van Veen refused to hide behind excuses, insisting the loss was down to his own drop in scoring and missed doubles at the crucial moments. 

He told ViaPlay: “The first half I was 100% on the doubles. Scoring wasn’t brilliant, but it was fine. 

“After that I missed the 52, I miss two darts. You keep missing, then you get one match dart at the bull. You miss that, and then it’s just over.

“You can’t judge yourself on one dart at the bull. My scoring just wasn’t great today. He didn’t start well either, and then you just have to finish it off.  

“Like I said, I miss those two darts at 52. When you look back at the match, that’s just incredibly frustrating. 

“I’d imagined a lot about playing here in Antwerp. It’s obviously a beautiful venue. 

“But I think everyone at home could hear that the crowd was on his side. 

“That’s fine — that’s allowed. You just maybe don’t expect it. I definitely didn’t lose because of that. But maybe it makes it a slightly different experience than I’d hoped for.”

Van Veen sits fourth in the Premier League table after making the final on debut last week in Newcastle.

He added: “It’s a marathon. It’s a battle of endurance. One week everything goes your way, the next week it doesn’t.  

“That’s part of it. You just take it on the chin and move on to next week.” 

Van Veen returns to action on Monday at the Players Championship Three in Wigan.

Image by Taylor Lanning.