GIAN VAN VEEN has warned Luke Littler that he will not win every TV major – despite being the favourite each time.
The two darts superstars went head-to-head in the World Championship final earlier this month, with Littler taking home the Sid Waddell Trophy and £1million.
After securing back-to-back world titles, the Nuke promised that he and Van Veen would continue battling for the top spot in darts.
And they could meet on the oche again at the Winmau World Masters later this week.
Littler, 19, faces Mike De Decker in the opening round as he looks to win his first World Masters crown.
Van Veen – who is making his debut in Milton Keynes – will take on Ryan Joyce.
Ahead of the competition, the Dutchman, 23, claimed that Littler is expected to win every time he steps onto the stage.
He told Sky Sports: “The pressure is always going to be on Luke.
“Everyone expects Littler to win pretty much every time he plays, which he’s not going to do, but he’s going to be favourite for all of them – especially this one.
“He said he wants to win the World Masters and the European Championship, so he’s going to be extra dangerous in those tournaments. I’m curious to see how far he goes!”
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Luke Humpries won the Winmau World Masters last year with a 6-5 victory against Jonny Clayton in the final.
Clayton had cruised to a 4-1 win over Littler at the quarter-final stage before defeating Dimitri Van den Bergh in his penultimate match.
Reflecting on that win over the Nuke, Clayton told Sky Sports: “I must have upset him, I think, when I beat him!
“When he writes his book in years to come, it will say he lost against me the first time we met each other on the stage!”
