Luke Littler admits he has not spoken to Gian van Veen since their on-stage bust-up in Manchester, but says the matter is settled.
The pair clashed at a Premier League event three weeks ago, with Van Veen accused of celebrating when Littler missed a match dart. The match ended with a frosty handshake and a social-media fallout, with both players sticking to their versions of events.
Littler says he has not cleared the air with the Dutchman but is open to settling it on the oche if they meet again in 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.”
He added that backstage preparations have been normal. “I think he’s forgotten about it. I’ve forgotten about it. I moved on the day after, went on holiday.”
Littler has felt the fallout from the dispute, receiving hostile reactions in Rotterdam and again in Liverpool, but he responded by beating Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Jonny Clayton en route to victory in Liverpool.
“There has been plenty of discourse about Littler’s actions in Manchester, but he insists he has no regrets,” he said. “No, I don’t regret anything. 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.”
A win on the banks of the Mersey meant more to Littler, who is a Manchester United fan and has previously taunted Liverpool on social media. He said the reception in Liverpool was bad but still not as severe as the treatment he received in Van Veen’s home city.
“If it gets worse than that, then something’s wrong,” Littler 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.”
Who will win this year’s Premier League Darts? Watch the action every Thursday through to the finals in May on Sky Sports.