Josh Rock

Josh Rock
Rock at the 2025 World Matchplay
Personal information
Full name	Joshua Rock
Nickname	"Rocky" [1] [2]
Born	(2001-04-13) 13 April 2001 (age 24) 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– (Tour Card: 2022–)
WDF	2021
Current world ranking	( PDC ) 11 (10 September 2025) [4]
PDC premier events – best performances
World Championship	Last 16: 2023
World Matchplay	Semi-final: 2025
World Grand Prix	Last 32: 2023, 2024
UK Open	Semi-final: 2025
Grand Slam	Quarter-final: 2023
European Championship	Last 16: 2022
PC Finals	Last 32: 2023
Masters	Last 16: 2025
World Series Finals	Semi-final: 2025
Other tournament wins
PDC World Cup of Darts (Team event) 2025 European Tour Events (x1) Dutch Darts Championship 2024 Players Championships (x4) 2022, 2024 (x2), 2025 Youth Events PDC World Youth Championship 2022 PDC Development Tour 2022 (x5)

Joshua Rock (born 13 April 2001) is a Northern Irish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number eleven. Nicknamed "Rocky", he has been a PDC Tour Card holder since 2022. He won his first European Tour title at the 2024 Dutch Darts Championship and has won six PDC titles in his professional career. He has made two PDC major semi-finals in 2025; at the UK Open and World Matchplay. Rock won the PDC World Cup of Darts in 2025, representing Northern Ireland alongside Daryl Gurney.

In his youth career, Rock won the 2022 PDC World Youth Championship, along with five Development Tours. He became the first debutant to throw a televised nine-dart finish at the Grand Slam of Darts, achieving the feat against Michael van Gerwen at the 2022 event.

Early life

Rock was born on 13 April 2001 in Antrim, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. ^{[5] [3]} He played for his local football club, Antrim Rovers, as a right-back. ^[6] 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. ^[7]

Career

2022

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. ^[8]

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. ^[9] 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. ^[10]

2023

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. ^[11] Rock lost in his quarter-final match 16–15 to James Wade. ^[12]

2024

At the 2024 World Championship, Rock suffered a shock 3–1 second-round defeat to Berry van Peer. ^[13] On the 2024 PDC Pro Tour, Rock reached the final of Players Championship 7, but lost to Chris Dobey 8–4. ^{[14] [15]} 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. ^[16] Rock added two more Players Championship titles at events 17 and 30. ^{[17] [18]}

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. ^[19] They reached the quarter-finals of the tournament, where they were defeated 8–4 by eventual champions England. ^[20]

2025

Rock (right) and his Northern Ireland teammate Daryl Gurney after their win at the 2025 PDC World Cup of Darts

At the 2025 World Championship, Rock reached the third round where he was eliminated in a 4–2 defeat to Chris Dobey. ^[21] 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." ^{[22] [23]} 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. ^[24] 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. ^[25]

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. ^[26] He broke the record for most maximums (180s) hit in a World Cup final with nine. ^[27]

Rock reached the semi-finals of the 2025 World Matchplay ^{[28] [29]} and the final of the 2025 Flanders Darts Trophy, losing to eventual champion Luke Littler on both occasions in their only two meetings to date. ^{[30] [31]} Following the tournaments, Rock reached a career-high of eleventh in the PDC Order of Merit. ^[32]

Personal life

Rock married his wife Sarah in January 2025, two days before competing at the 2025 PDC World Masters. ^[33] In September 2024, the couple had a daughter. ^[34] 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. ^[35]

Rock became an ambassador for Sensory Kids NI, a children's autism charity in Northern Ireland, after his stepson was diagnosed with autism. ^{[36] [37]}

World Championship results

PDC

• 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)

Career finals

PDC team finals: 1 (1 title)

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

Tournament	2022	2023	2024	2025
PDC Ranked televised events
World Championship	DNQ	4R	2R	3R
World Masters [N 2]	DNQ		1R	2R
UK Open	1R	3R	5R	SF
World Matchplay	DNQ	1R	1R	SF
World Grand Prix	DNQ	1R	1R
European Championship	2R	1R	1R
Grand Slam	2R	QF	RR
Players Championship Finals	1R	2R	2R
PDC Non-ranked events
World Cup	DNQ		QF	W
World Series Finals	DNQ			SF
World Youth Championship	W	QF	DNP
Career statistics
Season-end ranking (PDC)	36	21	16

PDC European Tour

Season	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
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	SDT	GDC

PDC Players Championships

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	LEI	LEI	WIG	WIG	WIG	WIG

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

Nine-dart finishes

See also: Nine-dart finish

Josh Rock televised nine-dart finishes

Date	Opponent	Tournament	Method
17 November 2022	Michael van Gerwen	2022 Grand Slam of Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12

Notes

1. (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets, (m) = score in matches.
2. Before 2025 this was a non ranked event.

References

1. "Darts profile – Josh Rock "Rocky"". dartn.de (in German).
2. "Josh Rock player profile". Mastercaller.
3. "Josh Rock PDPA Profile". PDPA. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
4. "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 10 September 2025. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
5. "Josh Rock". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
6. 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.
7. "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.
8. 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.
9. "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.
10. 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.
11. "Josh Rock: Northern Irishman reaches quarter-finals at Grand Slam of Darts". BBC Sport. 16 November 2023.
12. "Grand Slam of Darts: Luke Humphries edges Gary Anderson in a classic as James Wade beats Josh Rock". Sky Sports . 18 November 2023.
13. "Josh Rock suffers shock defeat at the World Darts Championship, while Daryl Gurney fights on". Belfast Telegraph. 24 December 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
14. "Chris Dobey wins Players Championship 7 on day of nine-dart finishes in Leicester". Sky Sports . 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
15. Gorton, Josh (8 April 2024). "Delight for Dobey with PC7 success in Leicester". Professional Darts Corporation . Retrieved 8 April 2024.
16. "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.
17. Allen, Dave (2 August 2024). "Resilient Rock sees off Cullen for Players Championship 17 title". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
18. "Rock beats Clayton to win Players Championship title". BBC Sport. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
19. 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.
20. "World Cup of Darts: Luke Humphries and Michael Smith's England defeat Austria in final". Sky Sports. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
21. 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.
22. Fullerton, Gareth (22 January 2025). "'Luke Littler and I can dominate darts for years to come' - Josh Rock". Belfast Live. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
23. "Rock ready to 'dominate' darts with Littler". BBC Sport. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
24. 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.
25. Bailie, Keith (1 April 2025). "Northern Ireland's Josh Rock wins the Players Championship 10 title". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
26. "Northern Ireland lift World Cup with epic last-leg win over Wales". BBC Sport. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
27. "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.
28. "Luke Littler reels in Josh Rock to reach World Matchplay final". RTÉ. PA. 26 July 2025. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
29. Stafford, Ali (26 July 2025). "World Matchplay 2025: Luke Littler fires nine-darter in victory over Josh Rock to book final with James Wade in Blackpool". Sky Sports. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
30. "Littler wins Flanders Darts title after Rock thriller". BBC Sport. 31 August 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
31. "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.
32. Gorton, Josh (1 September 2025). "Rock continues to climb Werner Rankings Ladder". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
33. Fullerton, Gareth (31 January 2025). "Josh Rock cracks honeymoon joke after winning start to Winmau World Masters". Belfast Live. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
34. https://dartsnews.com/pdc/the-way-i-feel-now-is-a-major-is-coming-soon-in-my-eyes-marriage-fatherhood-and-a-new-positive-outlook-for-josh-rock
35. 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.
36. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/darts-sensation-josh-throws-his-support-behind-charity-for-autistic-youngsters/1142319236.html?
37. https://x.com/joshrock18002/status/1615099733739020297?s=61&t=jUMwJKOKM64cZWG5ZIQjFw

External links

• Josh Rock player profile at Darts Orakel
• Player profile for Josh Rock from Dartsdatabase