VAN VEEN BRUTALLY TIPPED TO HAVE SHORT CAREER
16/09/2025 By Aaron Nijjar
MATT EDGAR has delivered a brutal verdict on Gian van Veen by predicting the Dutchman will be gone from the top of darts in just FIVE years.
World No. 18 Van Veen is enjoying a breakout season as he won his first ProTour crown at the Players Championship Six where he beat Luke Humphries 8-3 in the final.
‘The Giant’ also reached back-to-back major quarter-finals at the UK Open and World Matchplay.
Former pro Andy Cornwall reckons Van Veen has the game to blow away the very best but insists a worrying pattern is emerging in his performances.
He said on the Mission Darts Podcast: “Van Veen’s a good one for me. I like talking about him because we talk about this a lot.
“Can you maintain a level? He doesn’t seem to be able to, he’s got this phenomenal A-game.
“I mean, just, he beats Littler, doesn’t he, again. The A-game when I see him play like that, I’m like, well, he wins the tournament.
“But then he’ll drop off to an 89 average, and you go, hey, why?”
Pundit Matt Edgar believes the 23-year-old struggles when events stretch across multiple matches on the same day.
He added: “There’s a pattern. He doesn’t do it in the Matchplay. Didn’t do it at the start of the European Tour.
“It’s on the days where it goes multiple matches. That’s the pattern I’m starting to see emerge.
“It also leads me to what I said a while ago, I think Gian van Veen is the sort of player who will have a very good, but maybe a shorter career than expected.
“I draw comparison in Van Veen to an upgraded version of Benito van de Pas. I see very, very similar stories.”
Van de Pas was a multiple ranking-event winner in 2016 and reached the world’s top 32, but he faltered for consistency and ultimately lost his Tour Card in 2020.
Cornwall responded: “Definitely an upgraded version, I think. But you’re right he needs to learn how to get through those long days.
“I don’t think he’s probably had as much ProTour, Players Champs, success as maybe he should have. They’re all-day events aren’t they.”
Edgar admits Van Veen will have a great career at the oche however it may lack longevity.
He revealed: “I don’t think he’s had as much successful stoppers as he should have, because he’s a very, very talented player.
“He will, he’s not saying he’s not going to go do it. He’s going to go and have a fantastic career of titles.
“I just don’t see him there in five years.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
