Josh Rock
| Josh Rock | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Rock in 2026 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Joshua Rock | ||
| Nickname | "Rocky"[1][2] | ||
| Born | 13 April 2001 Antrim, Country Antrim, Northern Ireland | ||
| Home town | Broughshane, County Antrim, Northern Ireland | ||
| Darts information | |||
| Playing darts since | 2016 | ||
| Darts | 24g Target Signature Gen 1 | ||
| Laterality | Right-handed[2] | ||
| Walk-on music | "Welcome to the Party" by DJ Krissy[3] | ||
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |||
| PDC | 2022–present (Tour Card: 2022–present) | ||
| WDF | 2021 | ||
| Current world ranking | (PDC) 8  (21 June 2026)[4] | ||
| PDC premier events – best performances | |||
| World Championship | Last 16: 2023, 2026 | ||
| World Matchplay | Semi-final: 2025 | ||
| World Grand Prix | Last 16: 2025 | ||
| UK Open | Semi-final: 2025, 2026 | ||
| Grand Slam | Quarter-final: 2023, 2025 | ||
| European Championship | Last 16: 2022 | ||
| Premier League | 8th: 2026 | ||
| PC Finals | Quarter-final: 2025 | ||
| Masters | Quarter-final: 2026 | ||
| World Series Finals | Semi-final: 2025 | ||
| Other tournament wins | |||
| |||
| Other achievements | |||
| 2022 Young Player of the Year 2022 Best Newcomer[5] | |||
Joshua Rock (born 13 April 2001) is a Northern Irish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is ranked world number eight. Nicknamed "Rocky", he won the PDC World Cup of Darts in 2025, representing Northern Ireland alongside Daryl Gurney. Rock has also won six PDC ranking titles, including two titles on the European Tour.
In his youth career, Rock found success in the PDC's youth system, most notably winning the PDC World Youth Championship in 2022. He also won five titles on the 2022 PDC Development Tour. He threw his first televised nine-dart finish at the 2022 Grand Slam of Darts in his match against Michael van Gerwen. In 2025, Rock reached the semi-finals of the UK Open, World Matchplay, and the World Series Finals.
Early life
[edit]Rock was born on 13 April 2001 in Antrim, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.[6][3] He played for his local football club, Antrim Rovers, as a right-back.[7] He later moved to the village of Broughshane. He started playing darts competitively in pub leagues at the age of 10 or 11 and began pursuing a career in the sport once he left school at age 16.[8]
Career
[edit]2022
[edit]In January 2022, Rock attended PDC Pro Tour Qualifying School. He won a PDC Tour Card by defeating Nathan Rafferty in the Final Stage Day Four final.[9]
He topped the Development Tour Order of Merit, winning five events. In November, Rock achieved his first televised nine-dart finish in the last 16 of the 2022 Grand Slam of Darts, in an eventual 10–8 defeat to Michael van Gerwen.[10] Later that month, Rock won the PDC World Youth Championship by beating Nathan Girvan 6–1 with an average of 104.13, a record for a World Youth final.[11]
2023
[edit]In his debut at the 2023 World Championship, Rock beat José Justicia, Callan Rydz and Nathan Aspinall before losing 4–3 to Jonny Clayton in the fourth round.
On the 2023 PDC Pro Tour, Rock reached the final of four Players Championship events and the Austrian Darts Open.
At the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts, Rock won Group B with wins against Chris Dobey, Jonny Clayton and Berry van Peer and reached the quarter finals with a 10–5 win over Krzysztof Ratajski.[12] Rock lost in his quarter-final match 16–15 to James Wade.[13]
2024
[edit]At the 2024 World Championship, Rock suffered a shock 3–1 second-round defeat to Berry van Peer.[14] On the 2024 PDC Pro Tour, Rock reached the final of Players Championship 7, but lost to Chris Dobey 8–4.[15][16] However, in May, Rock won his first PDC European Tour title; he beat Jonny Clayton 8–4 in the final of the Dutch Darts Championship.[17] Rock added two more Players Championship titles at events 17 and 30.[18][19]
Rock represented Northern Ireland in the PDC World Cup of Darts for the first time at the 2024 edition, serving as team captain and partnering Brendan Dolan.[20] They reached the quarter-finals of the tournament, where they were defeated 8–4 by eventual champions England.[21]
2025
[edit]
At the 2025 World Championship, Rock reached the third round where he was eliminated in a 4–2 defeat to Chris Dobey.[22] Following the tournament, he signed a deal with darts manufacturer Target Darts and claimed that he and new Target stablemate Luke Littler could "dominate the sport for years to come."[23][24] At the UK Open, Rock reached his first PDC major semi-final after a 10–7 victory over Nathan Aspinall in the quarter-finals, but lost 11–2 to James Wade.[25] He won his first title of the year – his fifth Pro Tour title – at Players Championship 10, defeating Cameron Menzies 8–4 in the final.[26]
Rock and teammate Daryl Gurney won the World Cup of Darts for Northern Ireland for the first time, defeating Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price of Wales 10–9 in a deciding leg.[27] He broke the record for most maximums (180s) hit in a World Cup final with nine.[28]
Rock reached the semi-finals of the 2025 World Matchplay and the final of the 2025 Flanders Darts Trophy, losing to eventual champion Luke Littler on both occasions.[29][30] He made it back-to-back European Tour finals at the Czech Darts Open, where he lost 8–5 to Luke Humphries.[31] After making the semi-finals at the 2025 Hungarian Darts Trophy, Rock entered the top ten of the PDC Order of Merit for the first time.[32]
2026
[edit]At the 2026 World Championship, Rock reached the fourth round of the tournament following wins over Gemma Hayter, Joe Comito and Callan Rydz.[33] He exited the tournament after losing 4–0 to Justin Hood.[34] On 5 January 2026, Rock was selected to compete in the Premier League for the first time in his career.[35]
On 26 February 2026, on week four of the Premier League in Belfast, Rock hit a nine-dart finish in his 6–2 defeat to Gian van Veen.[36] He finished his first Premier League campaign in last place with eight points.[37] At the Austrian Darts Open in May, he won his second European Tour title by defeating Kevin Doets 8–6 in the final.[38]
Personal life
[edit]In September 2024, Rock and his partner Sarah had a daughter.[39] The couple married in January 2025, two days before Rock competed at the 2025 PDC World Masters.[40] He is a supporter of Scottish football club Rangers and local side Ballymena United; he was primary and secondary schoolmates with Northern Irish footballer Ross McCausland.[41] Rock became an ambassador for Sensory Kids NI, a children's autism charity in Northern Ireland, after his stepson was diagnosed with autism.[42][43]
World Championship results
[edit]PDC
[edit]- 2023: Fourth round (lost to Jonny Clayton 3–4)
- 2024: Second round (lost to Berry van Peer 1–3)
- 2025: Third round (lost to Chris Dobey 2–4)
- 2026: Fourth round (lost to Justin Hood 0–4)
Career finals
[edit]PDC team finals: 1 (1 title)
[edit]| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Team | Teammate | Opponents in the final | Score[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2025 | World Cup of Darts |  Northern Ireland
|
Daryl Gurney
|
 Wales – Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton
|
10–9 (l) |
Performance timeline
[edit]| Tournament | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDC Ranked televised events | ||||||||
| World Championship | DNQ | 4R | 2R | 3R | 4R | |||
| World Masters[N 2] | DNQ | 1R | 2R | QF | ||||
| UK Open | 1R | 3R | 5R | SF | SF | |||
| World Matchplay | DNQ | 1R | 1R | SF | ||||
| World Grand Prix | DNQ | 1R | 1R | 2R | ||||
| European Championship | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | ||||
| Grand Slam | 2R | QF | RR | QF | ||||
| Players Championship Finals | 1R | 2R | 2R | QF | ||||
| PDC Non-ranked televised events | ||||||||
| Premier League | Did not participate | 8th | ||||||
| World Cup | DNQ | QF | W | SF | ||||
| World Series Finals | DNQ | SF | ||||||
| World Youth Championship | W | QF | DNP | |||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||
| Season-end ranking (PDC) | 36 | 21 | 16 | 9 | ||||
PDC Premier League Darts
[edit]| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | NEW QF |
ANT QF |
GLA QF |
BEL QF |
CAR QF |
NOT QF |
DUB QF |
BER SF |
MAN SF |
BRI SF |
ROT SF |
LIV QF |
ABD QF |
LEE QF |
BIR QF |
SHF QF |
PDC European Tour
[edit]| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | DNQ | ADO 2R |
EDO QF |
CDO 1R |
DNQ | HDT QF |
GDO 1R |
BDO DNQ |
GDT QF | ||||||
| 2023 | BSD DNQ |
EDO QF |
IDO 3R |
GDG 2R |
ADO F |
DDC 3R |
BDO SF |
CDO 3R |
EDG 3R |
EDM 3R |
GDO SF |
HDT 2R |
GDC 2R | ||
| 2024 | BDO 2R |
GDG QF |
IDO 3R |
EDG QF |
ADO 3R |
BSD 2R |
DDC W |
EDO 3R |
GDC WD |
FDT 3R |
HDT QF |
SDT SF |
CDO 2R | ||
| 2025 | BDO 1R |
EDT 2R |
IDO QF |
GDG SF |
ADO SF |
EDG 2R |
DDC 2R |
EDO DNP |
BSD 3R |
FDT F |
CDO F |
HDT SF |
SDT 2R |
GDC 2R | |
| 2026 | BDO QF |
EDT QF |
BDO 2R |
GDG 3R |
EDG 3R |
ADO W |
IDO 2R |
BSD WD |
SDO DNP |
EDO DNP |
HDT |
CDO |
FDT |
SDT |
DDC |
PDC Players Championships
[edit]| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | BAR 1R |
BAR 1R |
WIG 1R |
WIG 1R |
BAR 2R |
BAR QF |
NIE DNP |
BAR 2R |
BAR 2R |
BAR QF |
BAR 1R |
BAR 3R |
WIG 1R |
WIG QF |
NIE SF |
NIE 3R |
BAR 1R |
BAR 1R |
BAR 2R |
BAR 2R |
BAR 4R |
BAR 1R |
BAR 2R |
BAR F |
BAR 4R |
BAR 4R |
BAR W |
BAR 3R |
BAR QF | |||||
| 2023 | BAR 3R |
BAR 2R |
BAR QF |
BAR 4R |
BAR 3R |
BAR 3R |
HIL F |
HIL 1R |
WIG QF |
WIG QF |
LEI 3R |
LEI F |
HIL 3R |
HIL 2R |
LEI 4R |
LEI 1R |
HIL F |
HIL 1R |
BAR 1R |
BAR 4R |
BAR 3R |
BAR 1R |
BAR 2R |
BAR 1R |
BAR F |
BAR 3R |
BAR 4R |
BAR 4R |
BAR 2R |
BAR 3R | ||||
| 2024 | WIG 1R |
WIG 3R |
LEI 3R |
LEI 1R |
HIL 1R |
HIL 1R |
LEI F |
LEI 4R |
HIL 1R |
HIL 2R |
HIL 2R |
HIL 3R |
MIL 1R |
MIL QF |
MIL 1R |
MIL 4R |
MIL W |
MIL 1R |
MIL 2R |
Did not participate | WIG 1R |
WIG 1R |
WIG 4R |
WIG 3R |
WIG F |
LEI 3R |
LEI W | |||||||
| 2025 | WIG 2R |
WIG 1R |
ROS 2R |
ROS QF |
LEI 2R |
LEI 1R |
HIL 1R |
HIL 3R |
LEI QF |
LEI W |
LEI QF |
LEI F |
ROS 4R |
ROS 2R |
HIL DNP |
LEI 4R |
LEI 3R |
LEI DNP |
LEI QF |
LEI QF |
Did not participate | LEI 1R |
LEI F |
LEI 1R |
WIG 2R |
WIG 1R |
WIG DNP | |||||||
| 2026 | HIL DNP |
WIG 2R |
WIG 3R |
LEI 1R |
LEI DNP |
WIG 2R |
WIG 4R |
MIL 1R |
MIL 2R |
HIL DNP |
LEI QF |
LEI 1R |
LEI 1R |
LEI 3R |
MIL 3R |
MIL 2R |
WIG DNP |
LEI |
LEI |
HIL |
HIL |
LEI |
LEI |
ROS |
ROS |
ROS |
ROS |
LEI |
LEI | |||||
PDC World Series of Darts
[edit]| Tournament | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Darts Masters | SF | |
| New Zealand Darts Masters | QF | |
| US Darts Masters | DNP |
| Performance Table Legend | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Won the tournament | F | Finalist | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR L# |
Lost in # round Round-robin Last # stage |
DQ | Disqualified |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | NYF | Not yet founded | ||
Titles
[edit]PDC
[edit]- PDC Pro Tour (6)
- PDC European Tour (2)
- 2024 (×1): Dutch Darts Championship
- 2026 (×1): Austrian Darts Open
- PDC Players Championships (4)
- PDC European Tour (2)
Youth events
[edit]Nine-dart finishes
[edit]| Date | Opponent | Tournament | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 November 2022 |  Michael van Gerwen
|
2022 Grand Slam of Darts | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 |
| 27 February 2026 | Gian van Veen
|
2026 Premier League Darts | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 |
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Darts profile – Josh Rock "Rocky"". dartn.de (in German). 15 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Josh Rock Mastercaller Profile". Mastercaller.
- ^ a b "Josh Rock PDPA Profile". PDPA. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- ^ "Ranking Tables". PDPA. 21 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
- ^ "Annual Awards". Professional Darts Players Association. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ^ "Josh Rock". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- ^ Mirza, Raz (1 December 2022). "Josh Rock on leaving school at 16 to preparing to make his World Darts Championship debut five years later". Sky Sports. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- ^ "Josh Rock: 'I'll bring one home' - Antrim darts player vows to win a world title". BBC Sport. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- ^ Gill, Samuel (15 January 2022). "Josh Rock seals final outright Tour Card with victory over Rafferty to finalise 2022 PDC UK Q-School". DartsNews. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ "Josh Rock: Antrim man's nine-darter as Van Gerwen gets fright in Grand Slam match". BBC Sport. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ Gill, Samuel (27 November 2022). "Rampant Rock eases past Girvan, breaks average record with 104 in winning 2022 PDC World Youth Championship". DartsNews. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ "Josh Rock: Northern Irishman reaches quarter-finals at Grand Slam of Darts". BBC Sport. 16 November 2023.
- ^ "Grand Slam of Darts: Luke Humphries edges Gary Anderson in a classic as James Wade beats Josh Rock". Sky Sports. 18 November 2023.
- ^ "Josh Rock suffers shock defeat at the World Darts Championship, while Daryl Gurney fights on". Belfast Telegraph. 24 December 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ "Chris Dobey wins Players Championship 7 on day of nine-dart finishes in Leicester". Sky Sports. 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ Gorton, Josh (8 April 2024). "Delight for Dobey with PC7 success in Leicester". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ "Dutch Darts Championship: Michael van Gerwen falls in semi-finals as Josh Rock wins first European Tour title". Sky Sports. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ Allen, Dave (2 August 2024). "Resilient Rock sees off Cullen for Players Championship 17 title". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ "Rock beats Clayton to win Players Championship title". BBC Sport. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ McKendry, Adam (26 June 2024). "Captaining Northern Ireland on my World Cup of Darts bow an honour: Josh Rock". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ "World Cup of Darts: Luke Humphries and Michael Smith's England defeat Austria in final". Sky Sports. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ Stafford, Ali (29 December 2024). "World Darts Championship: Luke Littler beats Ian White as Michael van Gerwen, Chris Dobey win at the Alexandra Palace". Sky Sports. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ Fullerton, Gareth (22 January 2025). "'Luke Littler and I can dominate darts for years to come' - Josh Rock". Belfast Live. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ "Rock ready to 'dominate' darts with Littler". BBC Sport. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ Stafford, Ali (3 March 2025). "UK Open darts: Luke Littler cruises to TV title after thrashing James Wade in one-sided final in Minehead". Sky Sports. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ Bailie, Keith (1 April 2025). "Northern Ireland's Josh Rock wins the Players Championship 10 title". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ "Northern Ireland lift World Cup with epic last-leg win over Wales". BBC Sport. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "World Cup of Darts: Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney inspire Northern Ireland to glory over Wales". Sky Sports. 16 June 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
- ^ "Luke Littler reels in Josh Rock to reach World Matchplay final". RTÉ. PA. 26 July 2025. Archived from the original on 28 July 2025. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
- ^ "PDC European Tour: Luke Littler edges Josh Rock in final-leg thriller to snatch Flanders Darts Trophy title in Belgium". Sky Sports. 31 August 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ Abraham, Timothy (7 September 2025). "Humphries beats Rock to retain Czech Open title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
- ^ Gorton, Josh (22 September 2025). "PDC Werner Rankings Ladder update following Hungarian Darts Trophy". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ^ "Results of PDC World Championship 2026". Mastercaller. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ Chiu, Nigel (30 December 2025). "Justin Hood: English player makes history with record-breaking World Darts Championship win over Josh Rock as Jonny Clayton avoids upset". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
- ^ "Premier League Darts: Nathan Aspinall snubbed as Stephen Bunting keeps spot and Josh Rock makes his debut". Sky Sports. 5 January 2026.
- ^ "Josh Rock raises roof with stunning Belfast Premier League nine-darter". RTÉ Sport. 26 February 2026. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
- ^ Drury, Sam (21 May 2026). "Bunting wins as Humphries avoids Littler semi-final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- ^ "Austrian Darts Open: Josh Rock beats Kevin Doets 8-6 to claim second PDC European Tour title and traditional green jacket". Sky Sports. 10 May 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
- ^ ""The way I feel now is a major is coming soon in my eyes": Marriage, fatherhood and a new positive outlook for Josh Rock". Dartsnews.com. 2 March 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
- ^ Fullerton, Gareth (31 January 2025). "Josh Rock cracks honeymoon joke after winning start to Winmau World Masters". Belfast Live. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ Beacom, Steven (17 June 2025). "World Cup winner's day at Rangers with old schoolmate a 'dream come true'". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ Toner, John (5 March 2023). "Darts sensation Josh throws his support behind charity for autistic youngsters". Belfast Telegraph.
- ^ Rock, Josh [@joshrock18002] (16 January 2023). "Proud to announce that I am now an Ambassador for a Local Charity!! The work they do is Amazing! Check out their pages on Facebook, Instagram or Google for information on all that they do such as Sensory Rooms, Therapies, Events etc!❤️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links
[edit]- Josh Rock player profile at Darts Orakel
- Player profile for Josh Rock from Dartsdatabase
Top 20 PDC darts players in Order of Merit | |
|---|---|
Rankings as of 21 June 2026 with movement in rank since 17 June 2026 indicated. |
- 2001 births
- Living people
- Professional Darts Corporation current tour card holders
- PDC world youth champions
- PDC World Cup of Darts Northern Irish championship team
- Sportspeople from Antrim, County Antrim
- Darts players from Northern Ireland
- People from Broughshane
- Darts players who have thrown televised nine-dart games
- PDC ranking title winners