Gian van Veen is ready to continue the recent run of new major winners “If I maintain this level, it’s going to take a special performance to stop me”
Gian van Veen is ready to continue the recent run of new major winners “If I maintain this level, it’s going to take a special performance to stop me”
Gian van Veen continues to impress at the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts. The 22-year-old Dutchman, who won all three of his group stage matches with an average of 100 or higher, smashed Ryan Joyce 10-2 in the last sixteen, averaging 106.45. Van Veen will now face Gary Anderson in the quarterfinals, after the Scot defeated Stephen Bunting 10-6 on Thursday night.
“There was always going to be pressure on myself to continue that form, and I’m really happy with that performance,” Van Veen said after reeling off seven legs in a row against Joyce. “I think if I can maintain this level it’s going to take a special performance to stop me, but every player in this tournament is capable of doing that.”
The 2024 Grand Slam of Darts has been another event of surprises. One such surprise came when Joyce upset Michael van Gerwen in his final group game, advancing to the round of 16 at the cost of the legendary Dutchman. “I know how great of a player Ryan is. But you’re always going to be surprised that it’s not Michael van Gerwen,” Van Veen confesses. “A lot of players say they don’t mind who they play, but of course I’d rather play Ryan Joyce than Michael van Gerwen.”
In the quarterfinals, Van Veen will face Gary Anderson, a two-time world dart champion. With the format expanding to a best of 31, Van Veen will be competing on unfamiliar territory. “Next up it’s best of 31. I have never played that before so we will see how that goes,” he explains.
Van Veen is one of the PDC’s brightest emerging stars and has long been seen as a potential star of the sport. Since Luke Littler’s rise, the press has focused mostly on the 17-year-old Englishman, enabling Van Veen’s tremendous improvement to go unnoticed. “You can see, what Luke Littler has done from that moment onwards and every eye is on him, and he’s performing really well under that pressure,” Van Veen praises in conclusion. “But it’s given me a lot of less pressure this year.”
