Gian van Veen has reached the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix after a gripping battle, coming from 2-1 down in sets to defeat Ryan Searle 3-2. The Dutchman is into the last eight of the prestigious double-in, double-out event for the first time.
Van Veen admitted he had to dig deep to shake off the Englishman. "I needed to dig extremely deep," Van Veen told DartsNews.com. "2-1 down, he hit the 120 tops. I think that really, for myself, not the nail in the coffin, but was close to it." Even so, the world number three managed to turn the tide, benefiting from a key miss on the doubles by Searle in the deciding set. "I was like, OK, this is not going as I wanted it to and luckily I turned it around, especially in the deciding set when he missed the second leg, when he missed that money dart at the double. When I hit the five check, I was like, OK, now it's game over, this is it. Just get straight in and the next leg you're going to win it. It was a strange old game, but luckily I turned it around."
The contrast with Van Veen's previous World Grand Prix appearances is stark. Before this edition, he had never won a match at the tournament. "The last two years I've played really well in this tournament, but my opponents averaged 101 and 105. I think this format really suits my game because, you know, I think, as I said, the whole week, finishing is my strong aspect of my game and it's shown this week as well, doubling, and today a little bit less maybe than the first round, but it's still good enough," he said. Against Searle, the doubles were a touch less fluent than in his opener, but he compensated with heavier scoring. "This week I've been scoring, especially this game, scoring has been good. A lot of 180s, especially more than the first round, and I think that really helped my game today. It's been a totally different tournament than the past two years, but yeah, I'm thankful that I'm still in."
Van Veen also stressed that his big-stage experience increasingly makes the difference when a match threatens to swing. "When I was 2-1 down, I was like, this is still a World Grand Prix. This is a major, this is the last 16. You want to get into the quarter-finals and even further. So, as soon as I was 2-1 down, I was like, OK, I don't want to lose this. Because if I lose this, I'll be very disappointed tonight. So, I needed to step up my game and that's what I did, luckily. Ryan missed a couple of opportunities and I took mine. You know, even though you play so many tournaments nowadays, you play so many games. If it's a major, it's a major and the World Grand Prix is a fantastic major. You know, I love this format. So, yeah, luckily I got to turn it around."
Van Veen has become a regular in the latter stages of big events this year. He reached the semi-finals of the World Masters, the World Cup of Darts and the World Matchplay, and is now in the last eight at the World Grand Prix. "You know, when you're number three in the world, everyone expects you to get probably every semi-final of a major and do well on the floor tournaments, do well in the European Tours and all that stuff, but it's not gone that well this year. But as you said, in the majors it's gone really well, semi-final at the World Masters, semi-final at the World Cup, semi-final at the Matchplay and then the quarter-final here. So it's been going well, even though I haven't played like 100+ averages every game, I don't think I need to. I've been doing enough to win the games and I think that's what's more important. As you said, I think I've gone a little bit under the radar, but I don't mind that."
James Wade awaits in the quarter-finals, a player with a formidable World Grand Prix record. Van Veen also knows exactly what to expect from their previous meetings. "James is a fantastic player. He's shown it, especially in the last couple of weeks, winning in New Zealand or Australia, one or the other. I think it was Australia. And then winning the next European Tour that he played in. He's been really good tonight as well. Yes, he won 3-1 with a 92-93 average, but that one set he lost, he wasn't really there. But the other three sets, he was fantastic. I'm expecting the same James tomorrow. He's always good in this format. He's won this tournament before, but I know what it's like to play James. I know his tactics. I know what he's going to do when it's not going his way. So, I'll be prepared for that tomorrow and I just hope he doesn't start as much as he did today and then I've got a decent chance tomorrow." Van Veen beat Wade 16-13 earlier this year in the World Matchplay quarter-final.
In Leicester, Van Veen also hopes to follow a special Dutch trail. As a ten-year-old he watched Michael van Gerwen win his first major PDC title at the 2012 World Grand Prix. "I was 10 years old back then. I remember watching that game. He beat Andy Hamilton in the quarter-finals. Andy Hamilton, you know, this is for the very niche darts fans. Michael set it up and he took out the 160 in, like, in the middle of that game. And even though we're 14 years later, I still remember that finish. And Michael was very close in that game, but he won that game and then he beat, who did he beat in the final? Mervyn King. He beat with a 145 checkout. And so, you know, as a Dutchman, Michael won his first major here." Those memories still make the tournament special for Van Veen. "Of course, I won my first major, but it would be fun to win my second major here. And after that, even though that was in Dublin, it's still, as a Dutchman, that gives me special memories. So, yeah, hopefully I can do the job here this week."