Josh Rock is set to make his debut at the US Darts Masters this week, and the Northern Irish star has outlined huge ambitions for the rest of 2026, including winning the World Matchplay and the World Championship. Speaking to talkSPORT ahead of his first appearance at Madison Square Garden, Rock admitted he is cherishing the experience but made clear his focus is on landing an individual major title.
“Just coming to America full stop,” Rock said. “It’s the first time for myself and my wife, so I’ll definitely come back again. It’s been beautiful so far.” The 25-year-old compared the iconic venue to a Premier League arena, saying: “I’ve watched boxing most of my life and I’ve watched UFC most of my life. There have obviously been massive events that have happened here over the last 25 years since I’ve been born. Being here where some of the greats have performed is very, very special.” Rock also expressed his excitement at seeing his face on billboards around New York, calling it “very special” and adding that he is “very grateful that the PDC have given me the opportunity to be here.”
Rock’s form has been on the rise, highlighted by his heroics at the World Cup of Darts, where he produced a stunning 144 checkout in the quarter-final win over Latvia. With Madars Razma sitting on 24 for the match, Rock hit double 12 in eye-catching fashion. “I don’t know how many times I’ve watched it back, but it just showed bottle,” he said. “In circumstances like that, you have to show bottle. Latvia was sat on 24, and everybody saw Razma’s reaction. He probably thought, ‘I might get a sneaky chance.’ Then it was just bang, bang, bang. Daryl Gurney fell to the floor.” Despite Northern Ireland exiting in the semi-finals after an 8-2 loss to the Netherlands, Rock believes those moments prove his nerve under pressure.
But the 25-year-old is not satisfied with team success alone. “Yeah, of course. But I want to put my stamp on the individual majors,” he stated. “I really want to win the World Matchplay, and I’m going to focus as much as I can on trying to win it. The same goes for the World Championship. I just want that first individual major singles title.” Rock reached the semi-finals of the World Matchplay last year, losing a thriller to eventual champion Luke Littler, and believes his Premier League experience this season will give him an edge. “I think the edge I have this year is that I’ve played a lot on TV, especially with the whole Premier League campaign. I think that will help me going into it because TV experience is the best experience you can get.”
With top four in the rankings as his target – which would automatically earn him a Premier League spot – Rock is determined to keep pushing. “That’s definitely the goal this year. I’ll try my best and won’t stop until I get there,” he said. Reflecting on his growth, he added: “I’d say it all comes down to experience. This is my fifth season now, so I’ve been a professional for nearly five years. The more you do it, the more you get used to it. Hopefully big things and hopefully a couple of major titles. That’s what I really want to do, so I need to keep pushing and pushing. I’m looking to tick off an individual major. Everybody says the World Cup is a major, and it is. But personally, I think when you win an individual major, that’s when you really class it as your major title.”
