To say Gian van Veen's maiden Premier League Darts campaign has been tumultuous would be an understatement.
The 24-year-old entered the competition full of confidence after a dazzling run to the World Championship final that saw him claim wins over two former champions in the form of Luke Humphries and Gary Anderson.
That form stood the towering Dutchman in good stead to kick off the campaign, and he duly reached the final during Night 1 in Newcastle before narrowly missing out to his compatriot Michael van Gerwen.
Van Veen recorded another two final appearances over the course of the opening month, missing out to Jonny Clayton and Stephen Bunting in Glasgow and Belfast respectively.
Despite failing to get over the line, the 24-year-old had reasserted his position as one of the game's elite talents, and was a favourite to claim a place in the play-offs come season's end as the campaign approached the midway point.
However, his momentum was abruptly halted ahead of Night 7 in Dublin after he was hospitalised with kidney stones and forced to withdraw, with the recovery process subsequently taking its toll both physically and mentally.
"I think I maybe rushed back a bit too soon," Van Veen told bet365 Sports and Betting News.
"But that’s what we need to do with the Premier League because if you miss a couple of nights you’re automatically out."
Less than two weeks after being hospitalised he returned to the Oche in time for Night 8 in Berlin, but looked to be far from his best as he was summarily dispatched 6-1 in the opening round by Gerwyn Price.
He continued: "It’s been tough. Before last year and going into the World Championship I’d probably practice for about four hours, three-and-a-half hours before every game, now I do roughly three hours because I want to save some energy.
I’m still recovering, especially mentally, because it’s been tough losing a lot more games.
- Gian van Veen on his recovery from injury
"It’s been difficult, but I feel I’ve been getting better every week."
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Luke Littler rivalry
While still searching for his best form, Van Veen produced a remarkable performance to kick off Night 9 in Manchester.
Despite once again finishing the night as runner-up, headlines the following day were focused solely on his quarter-final showdown against Luke Littler, a rematch of their World Championship final three months earlier.
After the Dutchman missed double 15 to win the match Littler could be seen celebrating on stage, with the pair sharing a heated exchange before Littler went on to miss two match darts of his own.
Van Veen subsequently held his nerve to hit double six and win the match, but the incident became the enduring memory of the evening, prompting a divisive response from fans on social media.
Speaking on Littler Van Veen insisted that while he relishes the challenge of going head-to-head with the phenom, he needs to be more competitive for their games to be considered a true rivalry.
"I’d love to be in a rivalry like Taylor and Van Barneveld but I think it’s way too soon to say that [with Littler]." Van Veen said.
"I think for me to call it a real rivalry I need to challenge him week in week out and we’ve only played each other twice in the Premier League, so I wouldn’t go that far.
"But every time I play Luke I really enjoy the match. It’s always a difficult challenge and I would love to do it many more times in the future."
While a place in the play-offs is now beyond his grasp, Van Veen still maintains ambitions of capping off his campaign with a night win, and could secure another showdown with Littler if he is able to progress to the final at the Sheffield Arena.
With a quarter-final matchup against Price looming, Van Veen reflected on what has been a turbulent maiden season: "I’ve really enjoyed it.
"As a kid I always dreamt of playing in the Premier League and to be here now at the age of 24, It’s a dream come true.
"Of course, I would’ve preferred to be in the play-offs and go to the O2 next week but hopefully there’s always next year.
"It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks with everything that’s happened, but I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it."
