Van Veen: World Darts Championship Run & Record Average

Gian van Veen has become the fourth Dutchman to reach the third round of the Darts World Cup, after Niels Zonneveld, Wesley Plaisier and Kevin Doets. The Scot Alan Soutar was convincingly put aside 3-1.

The 23-year-old Van Veen had won a match at the World Cup for the first time this year, but added an extra victory against Soutar with ease. Van Veen finished with an average of 108.28, which was the highest average so far at this World Cup.

Van Veen will face Madars Razma, number 46 in the world, in the third round. The 37-year-old Latvian, like Van Veen, has never reached the fourth round of the World Cup.

Van Veen managed to find the triples well from the start, but still had difficulty with the doubles in the first set. Only one of the eight attempts was successful, so the first set went to his opponent, who caused a stir in the first round by missing no fewer than fifteen match darts.

In the second set a decisive leg was needed and Soutar got an arrow to take a 2-0 lead. The Scot threw the double sixteen instead of the required double eight and Van Veen took advantage.

From that moment on, the Dutchman played with a lot of confidence and did not give Soutar, who was throwing well at all, any more chances. With a 170 finish, the ninth at this World Cup so far, he took the third set 3-0.

In the fourth set the level of the European champion was actually one step higher. With a set average of 121.86, Van Veen also won that set 3-0.

Van Veen was happy with his performance, but another emotion prevailed. “Relieved is the right word. I felt very good during the match, but I managed to get away well here and there.”

“I think I started well, but especially in the second leg I missed a lot of arrows on the double. I did that last year too, then I couldn’t get into it at all and eventually lost the match. That goes through your mind for a while.”

It didn’t matter if Van Veen had his back against the wall. “He misses an arrow on double eight to take a 2-0 lead in sets, so you have a bit of luck there. You need that.”

Van Veen made it 1-1 and then left. “I think this says a lot about how much I have grown compared to last year. That has everything to do with self-confidence. And with my performance of the past year. That you are so much more confident on this stage.”

“The burden of my first World Cup victory has fallen from my shoulders. Last week I just trained very relaxed at home. But during the match you have some competition tension and you want to show the best side of yourself. I also need that tension to show my best game.”

Van Veen’s good play will draw even more attention to him. However, the Dutchman does not allow himself to be fooled. “I try to focus as little as possible on the high expectations and just do my own thing. Take one match at a time. I’m already looking forward to the next one.”

Later in the evening, Englishman Luke Humphries came into action. The winner of the World Cup in 2024, competed against 71-year-old Paul Lim. Lim, who made his World Cup debut in 1982, had the crowd completely behind him, but lost 0-3.

Humphries was on his way to immediately improving Van Veen’s highest average for a long time. In the third set, the world number two dropped a bit and after missing four match arrows, Lim from Singapore was able to win one more leg, to the delight of the crowd.