Gian van Veen has told Luke Littler exactly what he thinks of him - 'Crying all week'

Luke Littler will face his toughest test yet at this year's World Darts Championship when he squares up to Gian van Veen in the final. And the 23-year-old Dutchman has already let his opponent know what he thinks of him.

The Nuke has brought the game of darts on leaps and bounds since he burst into an Ally Pally final two years ago. He returned last year and claimed the first world title of what is sure to be many. He has been near-unstoppable in defence of his title this time around, dropping just three sets en route to Saturday's finale. There, he'll face Van Veen, who himself has enjoyed a dramatic rise. Van Veen has overcome troubles to become the new Dutch No. 1 and world No. 3 and he'll hope to outstage Littler on the grandest of stages. But ahead of their battle, Van Veen has already let on whether he respects the young English thrower.

Having enjoyed a stellar 2025, Van Veen broke new ground in October of last year when he won his first major title. He bested Luke Humphries in a thrilling European Championship final.

"It's settled in a little bit, but not 100% yet," Van Veen said when he was asked about his win at the time. "Maybe it's going to take a couple of months before it really has, but the past week and a half has been like living on cloud nine.

"It's been really nice. Loads of Dutch newspapers and TV stations wanted to do articles. We've been spoiled with Raymond [van Barneveld] and Michael [van Gerwen]. But it's been a while since someone new has won a major. Danny [Noppert] won the UK Open, but since then it's been kind of quiet. So it's great to see that attention again."

Van Veen was just 22 years old when he won this title and so naturally, questions arose about his comparison to the reigning world champion, who is still a teenager. In response to these queries on the back of his win, Van Veen showed just how much he respects his world final opponent, hailing Littler for how he has performed since his emergence.

"It's nice to be mentioned in the same sentence as Luke Littler," Van Veen said. "But what he's done in the past two years is phenomenal. I don't want to compare myself to him. If I did, I'd be crying in bed all week!

"He performs under pressure every week and that's why he's number two in the world and probably soon number one. Of course, I want to be there too, but I'm not in a rush. We'll see what happens."

Both Van Veen and Littler are all set to see a lot more of each other, too, in the wake of the Dutchman's rapid rise in the rankings during this tournament.

Van Veen is now ranked as the world No. 3 and is therefore guaranteed a spot in the Premier League should he accept, where he will face Littler on a weekly basis. The top four in the world automatically qualify for the 17-week event, which begins in early February.