Gian van Veen was already known to many who keep a close eye on darts away from our TV screens. The young Dutchman has been thriving within the Professional Darts Corporation system.
The long time Red Dragon prospect reached a Pro Tour final and qualified for the Players Championship Finals in 2022 without even having a Tour Card.
This changed at the start of January when Gian came out of European Qualifying School with a golden ticket, having finished in the Top 14 on the Order of Merit after four Final Stage competitions.
Darts World had been keeping a watchful eye on Gian’s progress and have kept in regular touch in order to get his own views on his progress. Check out our Youtube interview with him and the peices in Darts World Magazine and DWExtra
Since then the 21-year-old has reinforced his position, reaching the Quarter Finals in Players Championship 6 where he beat the likes of Maik Kuivenhoven and former World Champion Rob Cross in his opening 2 matches.
Numbers and statistics are not the only way to tell a story of potential and achievement but they can be a strong indication:
Van Veen’s best performance came against former Premier League and Matchplay winner James Wade, where the Red Dragon player averaged 102.31 in beating his English opponent 6-4 at the Barnsley Metrodome.
GVV has also made a name for himself on the European Tour, most recently reaching the Quarter Finals of the European Darts Matchplay at the Trier Arena in Germany. The Poederoijen born player lost out to James Wade in the Quarters but produced arguably the performance of the tournament in whitewashing former World Cup of Darts winner Damon Heta.
The multiple Development tour winner took that form onto the European stage and was flawless on the outer ring, as he recorded a 6-0 win over the Heat with a stunning average of 114.15. Heta averaged 103.96 himself in Germany but was only afforded 2 opportunities on a double because of how well his opponent was playing.
The confidence will have been there for Van Veen going into the 2nd Round clash with Damon Heta, after he beat compatriot and former World Champion Christian Kist 6-3 in the First Round, again producing a ton plus average of 103.92 with 5 maximums.
His run continued Sunday when he beat Germany’s in form World Cup of Darts captain Martin Schindler 6-2, with a checkout rate of 46.15% including 4 180s.
Van Veen was threatening a spot at the Betfred World Matchplay with the amount of ranking money he had picked up, but saw his hopes come to an end this time around against James Wade.
There has been plenty of talk about a new generation of players such as Josh Rock, who have been impressing over the last year or two.
Surely, ‘The Veen Machine‘ has now added himself to that conversation and with his professional attitude, and a wider awareness of the factors it takes to succeed than many his age, he could yet be the one who makes a major breakthrough long term.
The evidence is there though that the Dutch future talent will only have to wait a matter of time before he makes the trip to Blackpool, whilst there is a strong possibility that he makes his debut at the Alexandra Palace come the end of 2023.
Gian will return to Professional Darts Corporation action on the 10th for Players Championship’s 15 and 16 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester.
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC & Red Dragon
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