While Littler cruised through, there was no such luck for Van Veen as he beat his idol Anderson in a remarkable match.
It began with the Scot winning the first set against the darts with a 104 average, but any thoughts that Van Veen, 23, might be overawed in his first world semi-final were quickly forgotten as he hit a 10-darter to start the second set.
A stunning average of 113.35 saw him level it at 1-1 with a 117 checkout and was a taster of what was to come in the sets that followed.
Anderson started the next with a 144 checkout but Van Veen hit back once more, hitting six perfect darts to start the deciding leg on his way to an 11-darter.
Somehow, the fifth set took the match to another level again. First, Anderson broke with a 10-darter and hit a 170 checkout to go 2-0 in legs, and a leg from making it 3-2.
Instead, Van Veen made it 4-1 after a 170 checkout of his own forced a deciding leg. He won it and averaged 111.46, while Anderson was left wondering how he had lost a set in which he averaged 117.44.
The 55-year-old’s resilience shone through, though, and with the crowd behind him, he won the next two sets to make it 4-3 and pile the pressure on his younger opponent – who had missed four darts to make it 5-2.
But while both players showed signs that the unrelenting nature of the contest was taking its toll, Van Veen held firm, got himself 5-3 up and then finished strongly with a 13-darter to clinch his place in the final.
“To be in the World Championship final is not even a dream coming true because I wasn’t able to dream about this,” Van Veen, who had not won a match at the World Championship prior to this event, told Sky Sports.
“Now it’s happened and I’m so happy.”