Referee Huw Ware believes the tension between Luke Littler and Gian van Veen following their Premier League Darts clash will not last, stating both players will get a "clean slate" at their next meeting. The incident occurred during Night Nine of the Premier League Darts 2026 in Manchester, where Van Veen edged Littler in a repeat of the 2026 World Championship final, with both players missing match darts and emotions flaring on stage.
Ware, speaking to SunSport, admitted he was largely unaware of the altercation during the match. "From my perspective, I didn't really know what had happened until I got off the stage," he said. "I was looking at the dart board. The first thing I saw was after Gian took his darts out and Luke was geeing up the crowd, and I thought, 'Oh, he's geeing up the crowd, there we are.'" He added, "I hadn't realised what had gone on between them. I couldn't see that anyway. It wasn't anything for me to get involved with, no. Not really. Everything was fine. They were both very professional in the sense that they both shook hands."
The experienced arbiter doubts the needle will linger, noting that such friction is typical in elite sport. "In my experience, whenever two players have a bit of needle between them, no matter how bad it is, the next game that they play with each other, the next game is absolutely fine," Ware explained. He stressed his impartiality as a referee: "It's a clean slate. As a referee, you're impartial. I can't take sides as far as who is the right and who is in the wrong. If I refereed for them this week and something happened, then I personally would be treating it as a clean slate. I don't have any kind of preconceived notions or agendas against anybody when I'm up there." Littler and Van Veen could meet again in the semifinals if they win their opening matches against Stephen Bunting and Michael van Gerwen, respectively.
Ware also praised Littler's impact on darts, highlighting his unpredictability and influence on the sport's popularity. "Luke used to throw me every game when he first came along. He can still do now," Ware admitted. "He loves doing double 15, so going for treble 18 on 84 with one dart left is quite uncommon. Now I'm ready for it, I think I'm better now in that respect." He added that Littler has boosted darts among youngsters: "Luke Littler came along, and the sport changed, and it's continuing to change. I've been to academy visits over the last month or so, and I cannot believe the amount of kids that are there." Ware contrasted this with his youth, saying, "When I was young, darts was quite niche. It's done a complete 180 compared to when I was in school." He noted that a recent primary school visit showed Littler's appeal: "The first mention of Luke Littler, everyone went 'Oh', like that, and it was amazing."
