VAN VEEN FLOORED BY FREAK TOILET DOOR INCIDENT
04/01/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
GIAN VAN VEEN saw his World title bid unravel after a painful run-in with a toilet door left him bloodied.
‘The Giant’ was thrashed 7-1 by arch-rival Luke Littler in the final on Saturday night.
World No.3 Van Veen suffered a cut to his finger during a mini-break trip to the loo, forcing officials to replace the dartboard as blood marked the double five segment.
The incident came at the worst possible time for the Dutchman, as Littler tightened his grip on the contest and never looked back.
He said: “I went to the toilet. I got stuck with my left pinkie on the door. So it ripped it open and then my pinkie hit the board.
“So there was some blood on the board and the PDC wanted to change.
“Luke was like: What’s happening? I explained it to him and stuff like that. It was all good. It’s not usual, of course.
“Luckily it was my left hand, so it didn’t affect my game whatsoever.”
Van Veen was also briefly disrupted in the showpiece as an Ally Pally wasp invaded the stage, forcing both him and Littler to dodge and weave to avoid being stung.
He added: “I think it’s not possible to get rid of it. It’s going to be so many wasps in this venue. It’s a bit of a tradition.
“I hadn’t seen him before this game, ever. It’s my debut with the wasp so I like to welcome him on stage every time I want to play. It’s a nice tradition.”
Van Veen has enjoyed a breakthrough year, claiming his maiden major title at the European Championship and ending Michael van Gerwen’s 13-year reign as Dutch No.1.
The 23-year-old is in the Premier League and is relishing the chance to compete against the elite on a weekly basis.
He continued: “I’m very proud. Of course, 2025 has been the best year of my career, best year of my life so far with everything that’s happened darting-wise, but also personal, buying a house with my girlfriend, living together, it’s been fantastic.
“2026, hopefully it’s going to be as good of a year. It’s difficult to top 2025, but I’m already looking forward to it.
“Every single minute, I’m going to enjoy it because it’s a first time playing all those tournaments and, maybe, I don’t know, it will be my last.
“If it means my calendar is getting busy, I will skip Pro Tours. We’ll see what happens next year.”
Image by Taylor Lanning.
