Gian van Veen admits he was overcome with emotion after celebrating his maiden televised ranking title in sensational style at the Machineseeker European Championship on Sunday.
Van Veen came of age on a thrilling weekend of action in Dortmund, defeating world number one Luke Humphries in a deciding-leg epic to take the title at the Westfalenhalle.
The 23-year-old also defeated Damon Heta, Ryan Searle and Ryan Joyce on his way to victory, before claiming a memorable win against his Dutch rival Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals.
“It’s been a crazy weekend. This is such a phenomenal feeling,” reflected Van Veen, who has now climbed to a career-high of world number seven.
"I always said before to my girlfriend and my family that when I won my first stage title I wouldn’t cry. But here we are, I was crying!”
“It was a bit of a rollercoaster. Beating Michael van Gerwen as a Dutchman is always special, especially in a semi-final to reach your first major final.
“It was always going to be difficult against Luke. He’s a fantastic player; he’s the world number one for a reason.”
🗣️ "A lot of people know where I came from, struggling with dartitis."
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) October 27, 2025
An emotional Gian van Veen reflects on a journey which led him towards his first PDC televised title in Dortmund.#ECDarts | @GVV180 pic.twitter.com/WKvVjhqxpB
Van Veen found himself 4-1 down following a tentative start to the contest, but a blistering mid-game revival – aided by 160, 121 and 112 checkouts – saw him take control and establish a 9-7 cushion.
“When I was 4-1 down I thought: ‘You’re in trouble but just relax, try and punish him when you can and we’ll see what happens,’” continued Van Veen.
“Of course you want to win any final you play in, but you don’t want to get battered 11-2 or 11-3 in your first final, even against a player as good as Luke Humphries.
“I played really well in that second session. The 160 finish was really smooth, I felt really good and I think that set the base for the rest of the game.”
Van Veen squandered two darts at tops for the title in a dramatic penultimate leg, before Humphries responded with a skin-saving 85 finish on the bull to force a decider.
However, the young Dutchman came roaring back in a thrilling finale, kicking off the final leg with a maximum, before taking out the same 100 checkout – via double 16 – to cap off a famous victory.
“It might sound silly, but as soon as I released the dart, I just thought: ‘Please go in,’ added the World Youth Champion.
“I wasn’t even confident at that point, I was just praying it went in.
“I think a lot of people know where I came from, struggling with dartitis, so that’s why I took a little more time on the double 16, and thankfully I did hit it.”
Van Veen’s victory was made all the remarkable given he suffered an injury to his throwing hand midway through his quarter-final clash against Joyce.
He sustained a cut to his thumb and forefinger on the grip of his dart during the win over Joyce, and he was visibly struggling during his semi-final success against Van Gerwen.
“This afternoon I felt the cut, which wasn’t helpful,” conceded the Dutchman, who averaged 100.19 across the tournament.
“Every dart you throw, the grip of the dart rolls over my thumb, so every dart rolled over the cut.
“It wasn’t really painful, but the blood really unsettled the dart in my hand. It was slipping all over the place in the semi-final, but maybe now it’s a lucky cut!”