GIAN VAN VEEN insists he is ready to be the “villain” in a rivalry with Luke Littler.
The Dutch giant roared through to the quarter-finals of the World Masters with a strong 4-2 win over Nathan Aspinall.
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Gian van Veen is ready to be the villain in his rivalry with World No1 Luke LittlerCredit: Getty
Raymond van Barneveld and Phil TaylorCredit: PA
Van Veen, 23, is clearly not worried about future clashes with The Nuke and likened it to the old Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld head-to-heads.
He faces Littler in his Premier League opener on Thursday and said: “It’s not a hindrance. Of course, it’s a motivation.
“Everyone talked about the World Final. They expected it to be much closer than it was in the end and he whooped my a** again in Saudi Arabia.
“So it’s something I’m really looking forward to, playing him again on Thursday in Newcastle.
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“We’re going to renew the rivalry and, hopefully, I get one back at him.
“You know, 15, 20 years ago, we had Taylor against Barney. It was Taylor, the home soil player and then Barney, the villain.
“Hopefully, this couple of years, it’s going to be the same then between Luke and me.
“It would be my dream, of course. But, you know, we’ll see what happens. I’m just going to follow my own path.”
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Van Veen also played down the importance of getting some revenge for his Ally Pally crushing 7-1 defeat by Littler.
He added: “Maybe for the people, but not for myself. No, not at all because I know, especially in the shorter format, he’s beatable.
“Of course, he’s a fantastic player. He showed it [Friday] when he was under pressure.
“He pulled out some magnificent stuff, so he’s a very, very, very good player.
“But I know, especially in the Premier League format, best of 11, he’s beatable and if it doesn’t happen on Thursday in Newcastle, hopefully, we’re going to play each other many more times in the Premier League and I’m sure I’ll get one over him.”
