A World Darts Championship star had to contend with a cheating claim brought on by a conditions he suffers from
Gian van Veen, who has battled dartitis has made it to the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship. The Dutch player, who is colour blind, was once accused of cheating by an opponent due to his slow release caused by the condition.
Tonight, the 23-year-old will face Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals at Ally Pally. Earlier this year, on Huw Ware’s Tops and Tales podcast, Van Veen recalled a distressing incident from the Challenge Tour when he first developed dartitis.
He said: “I still remember one game on the Challenge Tour when I first got dartitis and my opponent was angry at me because he thought I was doing it on purpose.” He continued: “I was in tears, crying my eyes out in the middle of Barnsley Metrodome because I was struggling so badly.
“And for my opponent to tell me I was cheating or something – it was heartbreaking.” Dartitis has affected several darts players, including five-time world champion Eric Bristow and former World Matchplay winner Nathan Aspinall.
Despite battling dartitis, Van Veen believes the condition has actually boosted his confidence and improved his game. He shared: “The weird thing is, I played better through it. I started averaging like 85 with dartitis.
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“But when I got rid of it, I averaged 92, 93, because in my head, I was like, ‘You’re not going to release the dart until you’re 100 per cent sure you’re going to hit the target.’
He continued: “So it took a while, but I started playing better, winning more games, and that massively grew my confidence. And that’s how I eventually got rid of it.” The current European champion has had an impressive run at Ally Pally, rising to world No. 5.
Reflecting on his ambitions for the world championship a few months ago, he confessed that just one win of the Sid Waddell trophy would be enough to fulfil him. He said: “I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘I’m going to win five world titles.’ I’ll be very happy with my career if I win one.”
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He added: “I think so far, my career’s already been very successful. But yeah, I’d love to top it off – whether it’s in 20, 25, 30 years – with a world title. Doesn’t matter if it’s next year or in 10 or 15 years. Just win one, and I’ll be very satisfied.”
Humphries is the obstacle in his path to the semi-finals, but Van Veen will undoubtedly approach the match with confidence, having defeated the Premier League champion four times last year. Two of those victories were in the finals of the Players Championship 6 and the European Championship.
