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Gian van Veen defeated world No. 1 Luke Humphreys in Dortmund to win his first PDC title at the European Championship.
Van Veen played with a bloodied thumb in his semi-final win over Michael Van Gerwen, but did not let the injury deter him and won 11–10 in a thrilling climax to win his first televised ranking title.
The 23-year-old Dutchman survived a match dart in the closing stages and scored 100 to win the trophy.
“Crazy,” said Van Veen emotionally, claiming a £120,000 prize. “Whenever I won my first stage title I told my girlfriend I wouldn’t cry, but here we are. I’m crying. It’s an amazing feeling. To win with 100 checkouts, it’s amazing. What a night.
“I’ll never forget this moment or even this crowd. Winning your first major in Germany is phenomenal. I said to Luke after the game, when he shot the bull to go 10-10, that’s why he’s No. 1 in the world. What an amazing guy Luke is. It’s definitely a night to never forget.”
Van Veen has progressed rapidly over the past 18 months and now finds himself ranked 7th in the world. he will take charge Beau Greaves in World Youth Championship final later this month.
he had to overcome dartitis – a mental condition where the brain prevents a player from being able to release the dart – in the past, but ignored the doubts present in his mind in order to finish the match in a calm manner. “A lot of people know where I come from, battling dartitis. That’s why it took me longer on double 16. Luckily I hit it.”
Of his cut thumb he said: “I felt a cut. It’s not helpful. Whatever dart you throw, the grip rotates on my thumb, rotating on the cut. It wasn’t painful but the blood made the dart unstable in my hand, it was slipping. Maybe it was a lucky cut.”
After winning the World Masters, Humphries came so close and missed claiming his second major trophy of the season. Luke Littler has won this year’s World Championship, UK Open, World Matchplay and World Grand Prix, and this was a chance for Humphries to add to his tally.
Humphries said, “I’m a great loser but it’s hard to bear. I was expecting him to kill himself in the end, but he didn’t.” “He’s an amazing player and I was hoping he’d get a big win, but it seems like everyone’s going to get their first major win against me and it’s disappointing. I knew it was going to happen. He’s a tremendous player and he’s Premier League material. I’m disappointed.”