Gian van Veen has emerged as arguably Luke Littler's closest rival after rising to No. 2 in the world rankings and reaching the most recent World Championship final.
Littler triumphed at Alexandra Palace as 'The Nuke' blew away a below-par Van Veen 7-1 on the night.
The Dutchman's rivalry with Littler kicked up a notch in April when there was a flashpoint between the two during a Premier League night in Manchester with the war of words continuing in the week afterwards.
The Dutchman claimed his maiden major title in October 2025 when he won the European Championship with an 11-10 victory over Luke Humphries in Dortmund. He is the reigning back-to-back world youth champion.
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Gian van Veen
D.O.B.: April 23, 2002
Born: Poederoijen, Netherlands
Nickname: 'The Giant'
Walk-on song: 'Astronomia' -- Tony Igy and Vicetone
PDC world ranking: No. 2
Darts sponsor: Red Dragon
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What has Gian van Veen won?
Van Veen has won one major title in his career to date.
Major televised PDC titles:
European Championship (2025)
Other titles:
PDC World Youth Championship x2 (2024, 2025)
Players Championship events x1
Gian van Veen's other achievements
First Dutchman to win the PDC World Youth Championship
Became the youngest European champion in history by winning the tournament in 2025 (23)
How many nine-darters has Gian van Veen thrown?
The Dutchman has hit three televised nine-darters in his career.
Van Veen's first came in a European Darts Matchplay qualifier in 2023 when he was 21 years old.
His most recent came against Littler at the Poland Darts Open in February 2026.
PDC Order of Merit
Gian van Veen has leapfrogged Luke Humphries to become world No. 2.