Gian 'The Giant' van Veen
Born in 2002 in Poederoijen, a village of a few hundred people on the Waal. Nine Development Tour titles before he could legally rent a car, two World Youth titles, a European Championship at 23, and a World Championship final the same winter.
Gian's route to the top three ran through a lecture hall. He finished a bachelor's degree in aviation in 2023 and worked shifts near Schiphol while collecting Development Tour titles at weekends. He plans a leg the way an engineer plans a route: count back from the finish, remove every dart you don't need.
Gian was born Pieter Gerard van Veen. His parents had heard the name Gian before and simply thought it was a beautiful one, so that is what they called him. He carries it on every shirt and every walk-on. The nickname The Giant came later, for his height and his presence on stage.
He is colourblind, which makes the green and red beds on the board look alike to him. He hits them anyway. On stage he walks on to Astronomia, and by now the whole hall claps along.
Off the oche he follows FC Den Bosch through thick and mostly thin, and still lives close to where he grew up.
- Born23 April 2002, Poederoijen, Gelderland
- Walk-onAstronomia · Tony Igy & Vicetone
- Darts21g · Red Dragon
- DegreeBachelor's in aviation, 2023
- Football ClubFC Den Bosch
- ManagementMach Darts Management
TITLES, TRIUMPHS & MILESTONES
- 2026World Championship finalistAlexandra Palace. Past Luke Humphries on the way, then Littler in the final.Major final
- 2026Televised nine-darter, Poland Darts Open finalPlus a World Matchplay semi-final, a World Cup final with the Netherlands and a first Premier League season.Perfect leg
- 2025European ChampionHis first major title, and the one on the serving board.Major title
- 2025World Youth Champion, second year runningAlso won Players Championship 6, his first senior ranking title.Back to back
- 2024World Youth ChampionHungarian Darts Trophy runner-up. Grand Slam quarter-final.First world title
- 2022Tour card, Challenge Tour title, first of nine Development Tour titlesNine Development Tour wins between 2022 and 2024.The start
Personal video message
A birthday, a wedding, a mate who finally hit a 180. Gian records a personal message for the occasion.
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