Gian van Veen was eliminated in the first round of the World Darts Championship. The 21-year-old World Cup player from Poederoijen lost 3-2 after taking a 2-0 lead against Hong Kong’s Man-Lok Leung, who was making his World Cup debut.
Van Veen was “very disappointed” afterwards but also had to admit that his opponent was better. “Today the score wasn’t good enough, he was better than me. He is just a rightful winner,” the young Dutchman said afterwards.
In the first set, both players were equal. After four breaks in four matches, the score was 2-2. In the fifth game, Van Veen became the first player to hold his own leg and won the first set, averaging almost 95 points per three arrows.
Leung started the second set very well and won the set confidently. At least that’s what it looked like. However, the Hong Kong man missed at least twelve darts by the end of the set. Van Veen thankfully took advantage and still managed to secure the second set 3-2.
Turn back
But Leung, 24, didn’t let that be taken away from him. While they again had a strong start to the third set, Van Veen scored poorly and did not seem happy with his own play. The Hong Kong player did not give up anymore, used his second arrow to finish the set and reach the score of 2:1.
Van Veen started the fourth set much better and was able to get a break right away. But then the World Junior Championship finalist abandoned the match: The fourth set went to Leung 3-1.
Ally Pally behind Leung
Supported by the crowd at Ally Pally, Leung won the final and the deciding set. The third match dart landed a direct hit and Van Veen’s frustration was completely over.
“If I’m lucky I’ll win the second set and then it won’t be a problem. But after ten minutes, with 2-3 defeats, you feel like it’s your turn,” said Van Veen, who thinks the tournament is over sooner than he had hoped. “You’ve been looking forward to this all this time… But now it’s time to hurry home and move on to the next one. “Next year.”
Leung stated at the subsequent press conference that he had actually booked a flight home but would now rebook. He will play against Germany’s Gabriel Clemens in the next round. Last year the German surprisingly reached the semi-finals, losing out to eventual winner Michael Smith.
There was a big surprise before Van Veen’s match. Thibault Tricole, the first Frenchman to participate in the World Cup, won his first round match 3-1 against Belgian Mario Vandenbogaerde. He will face Rob Cross in the second round.
Championship hopeful Gerwyn Price played late on Monday evening and advanced to the third round. He defeated Wales’ former world champion Connor Scutt 3-0.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
