‘I saw it’ – Gian van Veen noticed change in Luke Humphries during shock thumping

Gian van Veen has pinpointed the exact moment he realised he had the beating of Luke Humphries at the World Darts Championship.

The Dutchman delivered a masterclass on Thursday night, as he thumped the World No.2 and major favourite 5-1 in the quarter-finals at Alexandra Palace.

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Heading into the tournament, Van Veen had been tipped to disrupt the dominance of darts’ two leading stars in Luke Littler and Humphries.

And he certainly proved this on the night, as he pounced on his opponent’s errors to storm into a 3-1 lead, averaging over 100.

In the fifth set, Humphries failed to check out 95 to win, leaving the door open for the 23-year-old, who took full advantage.

After going 4-1 up and within a set of glory, Van Veen wrapped things up with a dominant display to set up a semi-final clash with Gary Anderson.

Victory also saw him move to number three in the world rankings, and become the no.1 Dutch player in darts, ahead of Michael van Gerwen.

Meanwhile 2024 champion Humphries’ tournament came to an end weeks after he promised he’d win the Worlds prior to the start of it.

‘I took my chances’

Following his memorable victory, Van Veen revealed a key moment in the match gave him the confidence he needed to beat Humphries.

Speaking afterwards, ‘The Giant’ explained: “As soon as I hit the first 170, I missed a couple afterwards and I saw his body language change.

“The first couple of sets he was very positive and scoring really well. Then I started scoring better and he wasn’t.”

But Van Veen admitted he was wary of easing up against Humphries, adding: “Even when he’s negative, Luke can still average 100 or 105. 

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“As soon as you let your foot off the gas, he’s going to come back at you. So I just kept doing what I was doing.”

He later suggested recent head-to-head results had played a role, having beaten Humphries in the pair’s last four encounters, including in the final of the European Championship in October.

Van Veen continued: “I’d beaten him in the last four games.

“When he started missing a couple of darts at doubles, I took my chances. He probably felt like: ‘Here we go again.’”

Speaking in his post-match press conference, the 23-year-old admitted he been excited about the prospect of a quarter-final clash with Humphries after learning the draw prior to the tournament,

He said: “Before the tournament, when everyone saw the draw, they were already looking forward to this quarter-final — and so was I. 

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“To show what I’m capable of in this game, to put him under that much pressure, it feels amazing.”

Memorable night

It proved a landmark night for Van Veen, who admitted climbing above three-time world champion Van Gerwen as the top-ranked Dutch player had once been unthinkable.

He said: “To still be in the semi-finals, Dutch number one now and number three in the world, it’s an amazing feeling.

“I couldn’t even dream about it when I was a little kid.”

“Especially as a Dutchman, you always looked up to Raymond van Barneveld and then later Michael van Gerwen. I always thought Michael was going to be Dutch number one forever.”

Speaking on stage after knocking out Humphries, Van Veen said: “This smile won’t go for 24 hours, I’m so over the moon. I felt really, really good today, incredible. 

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“He’s a fantastic player. Whenever I play Luke, I know I have to perform at my best to even have a chance against him. 

He added: “100% [the biggest win of my career], it’s probably this win tonight, over the moon.”