Excitement, level, entertainment and a winner from Brabant. This semi-final of the World Darts Championship had everything. Ultimately, 23-year-old Gian van Veen goes to the final of the World Cup. The darts player from Andel defeated the Scottish Gary Anderson 6-3 in sets in a worldly match. In the final, Van Veen will meet 18-year-old Luke Littler.
Van Veen’s opponent was almost double the age of the darts player from Andel. Gary Anderson is 55 years old, while Van Veen is 23. Most advance predictions were 50/50, but it promised to be a spectacle.
The first set went straight away. Gian van Veen started the match, but saw the experienced Scot take the first set. Fortunately for Van Veen, a semi-final is one to six sets, which left plenty of time to close the deficit.
Van Veen untenable
But had a lot of time The Giant not necessary. Because after the second set it was 1-1 again and it seemed to be a long match. It is up to Van Veen to continue this. And that worked out well: the next leg started at 107 and the third set was also taken by the Dutchman, who had thrown out 70% of his doubles after three sets.
Van Veen was unstoppable. The fourth set was also a prey for the Andelse. The average shot up and that final place came closer and closer.
And it became clear once again that this is a special match. Gary Anderson threw out the maximum 170 and seemed to run away with the set, but what Anderson could do, Van Veen could too and his 170 also went out, after which Van Veen threw out the decisive leg and took a 4-1 lead.
The Scottish single world champion did not give up yet and took a set back. In the following set of legs, Van Veen got two arrows to take the set, but missed by a hair. Gary Anderson took advantage and made it 4-3.
Nerves of steel
The audience was clearly more of a fan of the Scot and that caused Van Veen some irritation. Especially after the 23-year-old missed three arrows to take a 5-3 lead. Gary Anderson made it 2-2 in legs and was allowed to start the last leg. But despite booing from the crowd, Van Veen stepped in at the right time and still took a 5-3 lead.
And so Van Veen only needed one more set, but Anderson remained combative and even took a leg of The Giant off. But Van Veen once again showed that he was mentally strong by immediately undoing the break and deciding the match in the following leg. 6-3!
We will see Gian van Veen again in the final on Saturday evening. Who would have expected that in advance? From never winning a match at the World Cup, to a final. Nerves of steel and strong play brought Van Veen to this final. In the semi-final against Anderson he recorded an average of 102.99, eleven 180’s and a finishing percentage of 55%
Youthful final
In the final, Van Veen will meet the reigning world champion Luke Littler. The 18-year-old Englishman is currently the darts sensation and has only won three sets this World Cup. This is the youngest final ever at the World Cup, where the men have a combined age of 41. That is still fourteen years younger than Gian van Veen’s opponent on Friday evening. Van Veen also equals Michael van Gerwen as the youngest Dutchman in a World Cup final.