Josh Rock proposes unique new tournament that would shake up darts calendar

Josh Rock has proposed an idea that would shake up the darts calendar.

The 24-year-old’s rise over the past 12 months culminated in his biggest achievement so far when he teamed up with Daryl Gurney to win the PDC World Cup of Darts for Northern Ireland last June.

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In an unforgettable final, the duo came from behind to beat Wales 10–9 to lift the title, the first in Northern Ireland’s history.

‘Rocky’ has since become an important player on the PDC Tour, jumping to number 16 in the PDC Order of Merit.

He went on to reach the fourth round at the 2026 World Championships, eventually losing to Justin Hood.

Rock’s new tournament proposal

Having now played in a multitude of tournaments, Rock proposed an idea for darts chiefs to ponder over.

Asked if he would like to see more pairs events on the darts calendar, Rock told talkSPORT: “One more pairs event where you can pick your own partner. Blind pairs.”

He further elaborated: “When I said pick your own partner, I meant you’re not allowed to pick your own World Cup partner because that’s a disadvantage.

“Gezzy (Gerwyn Price) and Jonny [Clayton], Luke [Humphries] and Luke [Littler], me and Daryl.

“So it would be a separate event but you’re not allowed to pick your World Cup partner.”

Rock will fulfil a childhood dream when he plays in front of his home crowd in Belfast on Thursday in week four of Premier League Darts.

The Northern Irishman has endured a difficult start to the 17-week tournament so far.

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Quarter-final defeats in Newcastle, Antwerp and Glasgow has not been the start he would have hoped for.

But with plenty of time to make up ground, he remains confident that he can claim his first win of the season against World Championship runner-up Gian van Veen in Belfast.

Premier League bound

Rock, who as a child watched his idol Gary Anderson secure two Premier League titles, revealed how his joy at finding out he was going to be included in this year’s event quickly lost its shine after some rival football news took centre stage.

“I got the phone call about 3.10pm then Celtic sacked their manager so it took the whole (spotlight) thing away,” the die-hard Rangers fan said.

“So I only found out when I was sitting in the living room.

“But I couldn’t sleep the night before because I hadn’t heard anything. It was all hush hush, nobody knew what was going on. When I got the call it was a relief.

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“If I didn’t get the Prem this year, I might not have been up for it the same (in the future) because I knew I worked hard to get into the Prem.

“I would have been heartbroken if I didn’t get it.

“My hands and my whole body started shaking, it was a dream come true.”

“When I was 11 I was watching the Premier League in Belfast. I always said I wanted to play there.”