Gian van Veen reveals Michael van Gerwen’s hilariously blunt verdict on Luke Littler defeat in World Darts Championship final

Gian van Veen has revealed Michael van Gerwen showed him little sympathy after his crushing World Championship final defeat to Luke Littler.

Van Veen was thumped 7-1 by Littler in his first ever appearance in the Alexandra Palace showdown clash at the start of January.

Despite coming to a disappointing end, the Dutchman had enjoyed a memorable campaign prior to his final thrashing.

To set up his clash with Littler, Van Veen overcame former world champions Luke Humphries and Gary Anderson in back-to-back quarter-final and semi-final victories.

His exploits saw him climb to number three in the world rankings, and become the no.1 Dutch player in darts, overtaking Van Gerwen.

Leapfropping ‘Mighty Mike’ is no mean feat, with the legendary Dutchman a three-time world champion and former world no.1.

‘A whoop on the a**’

Van Veen may now be his country’s leading darts star, but Van Gerwen didn’t spare his feelings after his World Championship final defeat.

Speaking to talkSPORT ahead of the upcoming World Masters, ‘The Giant’ was asked if his fellow countryman had said anything to him after being overtaken as the Dutch number one.

Smiling, Van Veen revealed Van Gerwen’s hilarious words to him: “He only said that Littler gave me a whoop on the a** after the final.

“That’s the only thing he said.”

Despite MVG’s brutal verdict, Van Veen remains full of respect for his compatriot, who has won 48 PDC major singles titles to date.

The 23-year-old continued: “I’ve said it in interviews and he knows it as well – in my eyes he’s still the Dutch number one, even though I overtook him on the rankings. I’ve got quite a few titles to win to even come close to him.

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“So I don’t look into that too much.”

It’s fair to say Van Veen has a long way to go to catch up with Van Gerwen’s long list of career achievements.

As well as three Alexandra Palace crowns, the 36-year-old has also won a staggering seven Premier League Darts titles, and tasted victory at six World Grand Prixs and three World Matchplays.

Meanwhile, Van Veen secured his first PDC major title in 2025, beating Humphries to clinch the European Championship in October.

Van Veen teases Van Gerwen World Cup pairing

With Van Gerwen a major source of inspiration, Van Veen admitted in the same interview that he would love the opportunity to line up together for the Netherlands at this year’s World Cup of Darts.

Last year’s edition saw Van Veen line up alongside Danny Noppert, after MVG opted out of taking part.

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A three-time former tournament winner with fellow Dutch icon Raymond van Barneveld, Van Gerwen has missed three of the last four editions of the team event.

When asked about the prospect of forming a dream team with Van Gerwen, Van Veen said: “It would be such an honour. 

“Of course, growing up as a Dutch darts player and if you ever have dreams about the World Cup, I always thought you need to be Dutch number two.

“Because Michael is always going to be number one. So, there’s only one spot up for grabs. That’s what I always thought. 

“And yeah, to wear that shirt together with Michael would be such an honour with such a legend in the game and especially as a Dutchman.

“But last year I had a great time with Danny. If Michael decided not to play this year or maybe next year in the years to come, I’m always going to be proud to wear that shirt no matter who I play with, but especially with Danny of course.”