The darts world is still buzzing over a heated incident between Luke Littler and Gian van Veen during Night Nine of the Premier League Darts in Manchester. Former professional Scott Mitchell has now stepped in to defend Littler, stating he does not believe 'The Nuke' deliberately celebrated Van Veen's miss.
The flashpoint occurred in the final leg of their quarterfinal, which Littler forced at 5-5 after trailing 5-3. In the decider, the 19-year-old missed double 7 on 134 for the match. Van Veen, on 90, hit treble 20 and then missed his first dart at double 15. As he turned away in frustration, he caught Littler in his peripheral vision making a celebratory gesture. Van Veen reacted indignantly, prompting Littler to respond with a dismissive wave. Van Veen ultimately won the match 6-5 after Littler missed double 7 twice more, sealing it on double 6. Tensions lingered post-match as Littler avoided eye contact during the handshake and walked straight off the stage.
Van Veen later claimed Littler did celebrate his miss and found it disrespectful. However, Scott Mitchell, in a Facebook post, argued the situation was misread. "For me I think the Luke Littler and Gian situation has been a little misread by pundits and news channels alike," he wrote. "Luke I don't believe would ever celebrate another player missing a double. Inside maybe but outwardly no. What he would do at 5-5, with himself to throw is get the crowd ramped up before his visit for match winning double. That we have seen from him before."
Mitchell added context to Van Veen's perspective, explaining, "Gian's disappointment at missing saw him looking directly to his left, then in his peripheral vision, saw Luke doing was ramping up the crowd for his visit to win the match. When us players on the Oche, our mentality as a player is me, me, me. So we think everything from a dropped dart or darts rattle is all done to put us off. When players could genuinely drop or rattle a dart accidentally." He concluded by understanding Van Veen's reaction in the heat of combat but maintained his defense of Littler, saying, "So understand why in the heat of combat and adrenaline pumping, Gian saw Luke's crowd ramping as that. I don't see it as that, I'm sure many won't agree."
