Gian van Veen admitted he didn’t know who his opponent Fred Krueger was as he dodged a Nightmare on Elm Street and instead was the master in Manhattan, winning through 6-1 at the US Darts Masters in New York. The world number three revealed the hilarious mix-up during a pre-tournament meet and greet.
“Even yesterday at the meet and greet he was standing right in front of me and I didn’t recognise him. Then he said, ‘We’re playing tomorrow,’ and I was like, ‘Oops, sorry!’” van Veen told Online Darts in New York. “He did himself proud, for sure. Like you said, I knew seven of the eight North American players in the draw, but I didn’t know him.” Despite the one-sided scoreline, van Veen insisted Krueger played well. “I don’t think the 6-1 scoreline reflected the game. He missed a few doubles and it could easily have been 6-3 or maybe even 6-4. He can definitely look back on it as a very positive debut.”
Van Veen, making his debut at the iconic Madison Square Garden, described the unique experience. “The walk-on itself was something different. It’s not something we’ve done before, so for me as a player it was really unique. Even walking onto the stage, there were fans at the front giving me handshakes and fist bumps. It was something special.” He added, “Walking into Madison Square Garden this afternoon to prepare for the match, you realise it’s still Madison Square Garden. It’s fantastic to be here.”
The Dutchman admitted to feeling rusty after enjoying his time in New York. “After Slovakia I didn’t touch a dart for a couple of days. I was just enjoying my time here, so I felt a little bit rusty today. That’s part of the game and I’m happy with a 6-1 win. It wasn’t my prettiest performance, but I’m just happy to get the job done.” As one of the eight PDC representatives, van Veen felt the pressure to avoid an early exit. “Especially if you’re first on, you don’t want to be the one who loses in the opening match. If all eight PDC players win, then there’s nothing to say. But if one of them loses, you’re definitely going to hear about it the next time you see the others.”
Van Veen also noted that Krueger was booed during his walk-on, which he attributed to England fans in the crowd ahead of their football match. “England are playing tomorrow, so there are probably a lot of England fans in the crowd. Then, as soon as the match started, everyone was shouting ‘USA’, so I thought, ‘Okay, we’re definitely in the United States!’” With the Netherlands winning 3-1 in the World Cup, van Veen was keen to watch his country finish the job against Tunisia. “Well, the Netherlands are playing now, so hopefully we can get this finished quickly and I can watch the second half. I’ve been told we’re 2-0 up, so hopefully everything’s okay!”
