Luke Littler admits he has yet to talk to Gian van Veen since their Manchester bust-up, but insists the matter is settled.
The pair were involved in an on-stage spat in the Premier League three weeks ago, with the back-to-back world champion accused of celebrating when his opponent missed a match dart.
There was a frosty handshake at the end of the match and some afters on social media, with both players since doubling down on their versions of events.
Littler says he has not cleared the air with the Dutchman, but is looking forward to a rematch. The pair could meet if they progress to the finals in Aberdeen, Leeds or Birmingham.
“No, we’ve not spoken. I’m not the type of person to go up and talk to him or something like that,” Littler said.
“Maybe he’s waiting for me to go and talk to him, but I’m not the type of person to do that, even in the practice room, people will talk to me first.
“I’m not the type of person to be chatting away.
“We can obviously settle it on the darts board, but backstage, it’s just been normal and been the same preparation-wise.
“I think he’s forgotten about it. I’ve forgotten about it. I moved on the day after, went on holiday.”
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Wayne Mardle takes a closer look at what caused the fiery end to Luke Littler’s quarter-final match with Gian van Veen in the Premier League Darts from Manchester.
Littler is feeling the after-effects of the dispute, with fans turning on him since it happened.
He received a hostile reaction in Rotterdam last week and was again on the wrong end of an unwelcoming atmosphere in Liverpool on Thursday, though he did silence the boo-boys with an impressive nightly win, beating Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Jonny Clayton on the way to victory.
There has been plenty of discourse about Littler’s actions in Manchester, but he insists he has no regrets over the incident.
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Highlights of the Premier League Darts final between Luke Littler and Jonny Clayton on Night 12 in Liverpool.
“No, I don’t regret anything,” Littler said. “Obviously, I have my opinion, he’s got his opinion, so we’re all entitled to it.
“I think we’ve both moved on with our game on stage, but off stage, obviously we’ve not spoken.
“It has been a tough couple weeks, but I just had to get on with it.
“Just playing darts, that’s what I’ve done now, winning this night gives me confidence.”
Success on the banks of the Mersey will mean more to Littler than most of his many victories.
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Speaking after winning Night 12, Luke Littler insists he won’t settle for just a Premier League playoff place and plans to chase Jonny Clayton for the top spot in the table.
He has never enjoyed the warmest of welcomes in the city, mainly because he is a Manchester United fan and has been quick to mock the Anfield club’s fortunes on social media.
But he says the reception was nothing compared to what he faced in Van Veen’s home territory of Rotterdam last week.
“If it gets worse than that, then something’s wrong,” he added.
“Rotterdam was far worse than tonight. I even proved to people last week that I can win games under those circumstances.
“There was no anxiety, I just expected the worst, but it wasn’t worse than Rotterdam. That’s the worst I’ve experienced.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
