Gian van Veen stunned world No 1 Luke Humphries in Dortmund to win his first PDC title at the European Championship.
Van Veen played with a bloodied thumb sustained in his semi-final win over Michael van Gerwen but didn’t let the injury affect him as he triumphed 11-10 in a thrilling climax to claim his first televised ranking title.
The 23-year-old Dutchman survived a match dart in the final leg before nervelessly taking out 100 to clinch the trophy.
“Crazy,” said an emotional Van Veen, who claimed a prize of £120,000. “I said to my girlfriend whenever I won my first stage title that I wouldn’t cry, but here we are. I’m crying. It’s such a phenomenal feeling. To win with a 100 checkout, it’s amazing. What a night.
“I will never forget this moment or even this crowd. It is phenomenal to win my first major in Germany. I said to Luke after the game, when he hit the bull to go 10-10, that is why he is world No 1. That’s how amazing person Luke is. It is definitely a night to never forget.”
Van Veen has enjoyed a rapid raise over the past 18 months and now finds himself ranked No 7 in the world. He will take on Beau Greaves in the World Youth Championship final later this month.
He has had to overcome dartitis – a mental condition where the brain stops a player from being able to release a dart – in the past, but ignored the doubts in his head to coolly finish off the match. “A lot of people know where I came from, struggling with dartitis. That’s why I took more time on the double 16. Luckily I did hit it.”
Of his cut thumb, he added: “I felt a cut. It’s not helpful. Every dart you throw, the grip rolls over my thumb, rolls over the cut. It wasn’t painful but the blood unsettled the dart in my hand, it was slipping. Maybe it was a lucky cut.”
Humphries was devestated to come so close and fall short of claiming the second major trophy of his season, after winning the World Masters. Luke Littler has won this year’s World Championship, the UK Open, the World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix, and this was a chance for Humphries to add to his own haul.
“I’m a very good loser but this is a tough one to take. I was hoping he was going to s*** himself in the end there, but he didn’t,” said Humphries. “He’s an amazing player and I kind of expected him to win a major but everybody seems to win their first major against me and it’s frustrating. I knew this was coming. He’s a tremendous player and he’s Premier League material. I’m gutted.”
