Gian van Veen

Dutch darts player (born 2002) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pieter Gerard "Gian" van Veen[a] (born 23 April 2002) is a Dutch professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is ranked world number two. He won the 2025 European Championship and is the reigning back-to-back PDC world youth champion. He was also the runner-up at the 2026 PDC World Championship.

FullnamePieter Gerard van Veen
NicknameThe Giant[1][2]
Born (2002-04-23) 23 April 2002 (age 24)
Poederoijen, Netherlands
Playingdartssince2015
Quick facts Personal information, Full name ...
Gian van Veen
Van Veen in 2026
Personal information
Full namePieter Gerard van Veen
NicknameThe Giant[1][2]
Born (2002-04-23) 23 April 2002 (age 24)
Poederoijen, Netherlands
Darts information
Playing darts since2015
Darts21g Red Dragon[1][2]
LateralityRight-handed[2]
Walk-on music"Astronomia" by Tony Igy & Vicetone[1][2]
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC2022–present
(Tour Card: 2023–present)
Current world ranking(PDC) 3 Steady (29 July 2026)[3]
PDC premier events – best performances
World ChampionshipRunner-up: 2026
World MatchplaySemi-final: 2026
World Grand PrixLast 32: 2024, 2025
UK OpenQuarter-final: 2025
Grand SlamQuarter-final: 2024
European ChampionshipWinner (1): 2025
Premier League7th: 2026
PC FinalsLast 32: 2023, 2025
MastersSemi-final: 2026
World Series FinalsLast 32: 2024
Other achievements
2023Best Newcomer
2025PDPA Players' Player of the Year[4]
Close

In youth darts, Van Veen won the 2024 and 2025 PDC World Youth Championships, as well as nine PDC Development Tours, including six titles in 2023 to top the 2023 Development Tour rankings. His first deep run at a major tournament came at the 2023 European Championship, where he reached the semi-finals. In 2025, he won his first PDC ranking title at Players Championship 6 and his first PDC major title at the 2025 European Championship, defeating Luke Humphries in the final on both occasions. The following year, having lost his opening match in his two prior World Championship appearances, Van Veen reached the 2026 PDC World Championship final, losing to Luke Littler.

Career

2022

Van Veen attended 2022 PDC Pro Tour Qualifying School. He reached the final stage but lost his opening games on the first two days, losing 6–3 to Mario Vandenbogaerde in the last 16 in event three[5] and to Ricardo Pietreczko 6–4 in the last 32 in event four.[6] This meant he failed to gain a PDC Tour Card but gained access to the secondary tour, the 2022 Challenge Tour.

On 15 July 2022, Van Veen won his only PDC Challenge Tour (CT) title to-date at CT12, defeating David Pallett 5–4 in a deciding leg in the final.[7]

While participating in the Challenge Tour, Van Veen suffered with dartitis, a neurological condition which makes it difficult to release a dart. Van Veen has spoken out about it, stating that dartitis actually made him play better, and that an opponent had accused him of cheating while he suffered with it.[8][9]

On 4 November 2022, Van Veen reached the final of the Players Championship 29 event, losing 4–8 to Gerwyn Price in the final.[10]

2023

In January 2023, he attended 2023 PDC Pro Tour Qualifying School (Q–School) and won a PDC Tour Card by finishing ninth on the European Q–School Order of Merit.[11]

On 27 August, he reached his second Pro Tour final. He finished as the runner-up at Players Championship 18, being defeated by Gerwyn Price 8–1 in the final.[12][13]

He qualified for the 2023 European Championship, held in late-October, and reached his first PDC major semi-final. He achieved victories against Damon Heta, Daryl Gurney and Michael van Gerwen. He lost to James Wade 11–9 in the semi-finals.[14]

Van Veen won 6 titles and topped the 2023 Development Tour Order of Merit, ahead of Luke Littler.[15] On 26 November, Littler beat Van Veen 6–4 in the 2023 PDC World Youth Championship final.[16]

2024

Van Veen made his PDC World Championship debut in the 2024 edition. He was eliminated in the first round by Hong Kong qualifier Man Lok Leung, who overturned a 2–0 deficit to defeat Van Veen 3–2 in a major upset.[17][18]

Van Veen won two 2024 Development Tour (DT) titles: DT5 on 25 February, with a 5–0 whitewash of Dylan Slevin in the final;[19] and DT7 on 3 May, with a 5–1 win against Nathan Rafferty.[20]

On 22 September 2024, he reached his third Pro Tour final at the Hungarian Darts Trophy. In his first PDC European Tour final, he finished as runner-up after missing a match dart at the bullseye. He was defeated by Michael van Gerwen 8–7.[21] In November, he reached his second PDC major quarter-final at the Grand Slam. He was defeated by Gary Anderson 16–14.[22] Having been defeated by Luke Littler in the previous year's final, Van Veen defeated fellow Dutchman Jurjen van der Velde 6–5 to win the 2024 World Youth Championship.[23]

2025

Van Veen (right) and his Dutch teammate Danny Noppert at the 2025 PDC World Cup of Darts

Van Veen entered the second round of the 2025 World Championship as the 28th seed, but lost 3–1 to Ricardo Pietreczko.[24] Van Veen made his third UK Open appearance at the 2025 event. He reached the quarter-finals for the first time, before losing there to world champion Luke Littler 10–4.[25][26] He reached the final of Players Championship 5 by defeating Luke Littler 7–6 in the semi-finals – ending Littler's 19-match winning streak. In the final, he led 7–4 against Joe Cullen but missed six match darts on his way to an 8–7 loss.[27] The following day, he won his first ranking PDC title by winning Players Championship 6, defeating world number one Luke Humphries 8–3 in the final.[28] He reached a second European Tour final at the German Darts Grand Prix, where he lost 8–5 to Michael van Gerwen.[29]

Van Veen represented the Netherlands at the World Cup of Darts for the first time, teaming with Danny Noppert.[30] The pair reached the semi-finals, where they were defeated 8–5 by runners-up Wales.[31] Following Players Championship 30, he entered the top 16 in the world on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time.[32] At the European Championship, Van Veen defeated Michael van Gerwen 11–9 to progress to his first PDC major final against Luke Humphries. The match went to a deciding leg, where Humphries missed a match dart and Van Veen completed a 100 checkout to win 11–10 and capture his first PDC major title, resulting in him rising to world number seven.[33]

Van Veen faced Humphries in a rematch in the first round of the Players Championship Finals, where Van Veen was once again victorious in a deciding leg.[34] He was eliminated by Krzysztof Ratajski in the second round. On 23 November, Van Veen won his second World Youth Championship by defeating Beau Greaves 6–3 in the final, becoming the second player to defend the title.[35]

2026

Van Veen on night eight of 2026 Premier League Darts

At the 2026 World Championship, Van Veen achieved his first win at the event by beating Cristo Reyes 3–1 in the first round.[36] He followed this with wins over Alan Soutar, Madars Razma, Charlie Manby, Luke Humphries and Gary Anderson to reach the final for the first time in his career,[37][38] before losing 7–1 to Luke Littler.[39] Van Veen's success at the tournament saw him rise to a career-high third in the world and replace Michael van Gerwen as the Dutch number one.[40] His rise in the world rankings also saw him qualify for the Premier League for the first time in his career.[41]

Van Veen reached his maiden World Series final at the Bahrain Darts Masters, where he lost 8–6 to Michael van Gerwen.[42] He faced Luke Littler in a World Championship rematch at the inaugural Poland Darts Open, where he hit a nine-dart finish but was beaten 8–4 in the final.[43] In his first Premier League campaign, Van Veen finished seventh in the league table on 18 points.[44] At the World Cup of Darts, he partnered Van Gerwen for the Netherlands and the pair reached the final, where they were defeated 10–5 by England.[45] In July, Van Veen reached his first World Matchplay semi-final, where he was beaten 17–10 by Gerwyn Price.[46][47]

Personal life

Van Veen was born Pieter Gerard van Veen[48] on 23 April 2002 in Poederoijen, a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland.[49][50] His parents gave him the name "Gian" in honour of a young boy from their neighbourhood named Gian who had died.[51] He is colourblind.[52] He is a supporter of the Dutch football club FC Den Bosch.[53]

Van Veen studied aerospace engineering and earned a bachelor's degree in aviation in 2023.[54][55] He worked a part-time office job near Amsterdam Airport Schiphol before pursuing darts full-time.[56] In 2026, Van Veen underwent surgery to remove kidney stones, which caused him to miss a night of the 2026 Premier League in Dublin.[57]

World Championship results

PDC

Career finals

PDC major finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

More information Legend ...
Legend
World Championship (0–1)
European Championship (1–0)
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More information Outcome, No. ...
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[b]
Winner 1. 2025 European Championship  Luke Humphries 11–10 (l)
Runner-up 1. 2026 World Championship  Luke Littler 1–7 (s)
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PDC World Series finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

More information Outcome, No. ...
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[b]
Runner-up 1. 2026 Bahrain Darts Masters  Michael van Gerwen 6–8 (l)
Close

PDC team finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

More information Outcome, No. ...
Outcome No. Year Championship Team Teammate Opponents in the final Score[b]
Runner-up 1. 2026 World Cup of Darts  Netherlands Michael van Gerwen  England Luke Littler and Luke Humphries 5–10 (l)
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Performance timeline

PDC

More information Tournament ...
Tournament202020222023202420252026
PDC Ranked televised events
World Championship Did not qualify 1R 2R F
World Masters[c] Did not qualify Prel. SF
UK Open DNQ 3R 6R QF 4R
World Matchplay Did not qualify 1R QF SF
World Grand Prix Did not qualify 1R 1R
European Championship DNP SF 1R W
Grand Slam DNQ RR QF RR
Players Championship Finals DNP 1R 2R 1R 2R
PDC Non-ranked televised events
Premier League Did not participate 7th
World Cup Did not participate SF F
World Series Finals Did not participate 1R DNQ
World Youth Championship 2R RR F W W
Career statistics
Season-end ranking (PDC) NR 103 43 27 3
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Premier League

More information Season, F ...
Season12345678910111213141516F
2026 NEW
F
ANT
QF
GLA
F
BEL
F
CAR
QF
NOT
QF
DUB
QF
BER
QF
MAN
F
BRI
QF
ROT
QF
LIV
SF
ABD
SF
LEE
QF
BIR
SF
SHF
QF
LON
DNQ
Close

European Tour

More information Season ...
Season123456789101112131415
2022 IDO
DNQ
GDC
1R
Did not qualify BDO
1R
GDT
DNQ
2023 Did not qualify DDC
1R
DNQ EDG
QF
EDM
QF
GDO
2R
HDT
3R
GDC
2R
2024 BDO
1R
GDG
2R
IDO
2R
EDG
1R
ADO
QF
BSD
2R
DDC
3R
EDO
QF
GDC
3R
FDT
3R
HDT
F
SDT
2R
CDO
3R
2025 BDO
2R
EDT
3R
IDO
2R
GDG
F
ADO
2R
EDG
2R
DDC
1R
EDO
2R
BSD
2R
FDT
QF
CDO
SF
HDT
1R
SDT
SF
GDC
SF
2026 PDO
F
EDT
3R
BDO
WD
GDG
2R
EDG
2R
ADO
2R
IDO
QF
BSD
3R
SDO
2R
EDO
3R
HDT
CDO
FDT
SDT
DDC
Close

World Series

More information Tournament ...
Tournament 2024 2025 2026
Dutch Masters SF 1R NH
Bahrain Masters DNP F
Saudi Masters NH QF
Nordic Masters DNP QF
US Masters DNP SF
New Zealand Masters DNP QF
Australian Masters DNP
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Players Championships

More information Season ...
Season12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
2022[d] Did not participate BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
2R
BAR
QF
BAR
3R
BAR
3R
BAR
3R
BAR
F
BAR
3R
2023 BAR
1R
BAR
1R
BAR
QF
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
QF
HIL
1R
HIL
QF
WIG
1R
WIG
3R
LEI
2R
LEI
1R
HIL
1R
HIL
1R
LEI
1R
LEI
DNP
HIL
2R
HIL
F
BAR
4R
BAR
2R
BAR
3R
BAR
1R
BAR
2R
BAR
3R
BAR
2R
BAR
2R
BAR
SF
BAR
2R
BAR
QF
BAR
SF
2024 WIG
SF
WIG
4R
LEI
2R
LEI
4R
HIL
3R
HIL
1R
LEI
3R
LEI
SF
HIL
4R
HIL
4R
HIL
3R
HIL
4R
MIL
2R
MIL
1R
MIL
2R
MIL
2R
MIL
3R
MIL
1R
MIL
3R
WIG
4R
WIG
QF
MIL
3R
MIL
2R
WIG
4R
WIG
2R
WIG
1R
WIG
1R
WIG
1R
LEI
3R
LEI
1R
2025 WIG
4R
WIG
QF
ROS
1R
ROS
2R
LEI
F
LEI
W
HIL
3R
HIL
2R
LEI
4R
LEI
2R
LEI
1R
LEI
SF
ROS
4R
ROS
2R
HIL
QF
HIL
3R
LEI
SF
LEI
3R
LEI
QF
LEI
3R
LEI
2R
HIL
QF
HIL
4R
MIL
1R
MIL
QF
HIL
F
HIL
1R
LEI
4R
LEI
3R
LEI
3R
WIG
1R
WIG
DNP
2026 HIL
2R
HIL
1R
WIG
2R
WIG
2R
DNP MIL
3R
MIL
1R
HIL
DNP
LEI
4R
LEI
1R
LEI
3R
LEI
1R
MIL
1R
MIL
1R
WIG
2R
WIG
QF
LEI
1R
LEI
SF
HIL
2R
HIL
SF
LEI
LEI
ROS
ROS
ROS
ROS
LEI
LEI
Close

Development Tour

More information Season ...
Season123456789101112131415161718192021222324
2021 EU NIE
SF
NIE
4R
NIE
5R
NIE
4R
NIE
4R
NIE
QF
NIE
5R
NIE
1R
NIE
4R
NIE
3R
NIE
4R
NIE
4R
2022 Did not participate WIG
1R
WIG
2R
WIG
2R
WIG
3R
WIG
SF
HIL
F
HIL
4R
HIL
4R
HIL
3R
HIL
3R
HIL
3R
HIL
2R
HIL
W
HIL
2R
HIL
2R
WIG
QF
WIG
QF
WIG
1R
WIG
1R
2023 MIL
3R
MIL
3R
MIL
1R
MIL
W
MIL
QF
WIG
DNP
WIG
W
WIG
5R
WIG
W
HIL
5R
HIL
SF
HIL
W
HIL
5R
HIL
2R
LEI
3R
LEI
W
LEI
QF
LEI
F
LEI
F
MIL
1R
MIL
SF
MIL
W
MIL
3R
2024 MIL
2R
MIL
F
MIL
QF
MIL
6R
MIL
W
HIL
SF
HIL
W
HIL
QF
HIL
6R
HIL
F
Not eligible[e]
Close
More information Performance Table Legend ...
Performance Table Legend
W Won the tournament F Finalist SF Semifinalist QF Quarterfinalist #R
RR
Prel.
Lost in # round
Round-robin
Preliminary round
DQ Disqualified
DNQ Did not qualify DNP Did not participate WD Withdrew NH Tournament not held NYF Not yet founded
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Titles

PDC

BDO/WDF

  • Youth titles (2)
    • 2018 Denmark Masters
    • 2019 Belfry Open

Notes

  1. Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣiɑɱ vɑɱ ˈveːn]
  2. (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets
  3. A non-ranked event until 2025
  4. Not a Tour Card holder
  5. Van Veen was ranked in the top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit ranking, therefore was not eligible to play in Development Tour events.

References

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