Josh Rock on how he felt when he nailed a 9-darter in front of his home fans “It’s like I’ve won the World Championship”
Josh Rock on how he felt when he nailed a 9-darter in front of his home fans “It’s like I’ve won the World Championship”
Josh Rock may not have progressed beyond the quarter-finals on Night Four of the BetMGM Premier League, but the Northern Irishman produced a moment that will live long in the memory of everyone inside the SSE Arena. The Broughshane star was left almost lost for words after striking a sensational nine-darter in front of his home supporters, sending the Belfast crowd into absolute delirium.
Already etched into Northern Irish sporting folklore following his World Cup of Darts triumph alongside Daryl Gurney last year, Rock further enhanced his growing reputation with a perfect leg against Gian van Veen in their quarter-final encounter. The achievement marked just the 22nd nine-darter in Premier League history and added another highlight to what is still a relatively young professional career.
When Rock eventually faced the media, the magnitude of the occasion was written all over him. His hands trembled as he attempted to process what he had just accomplished, still visibly overcome by the emotion of producing perfection on the sport’s biggest travelling stage.
“If it’s the only time I’ll be in the Premier League – hopefully it won’t be – but my first time in Belfast, my home crowd, to hit a nine-darter, words can’t even explain the way I feel at the moment,” said an incredulous Rock.
“I’m speechless. The only good thing was I’d done an exhibition back home, and when the questions were asked in the Q&A, I was asked would I have hit a nine dart? I said, yeah. I’m just happy I lived up to my word. I didn’t say I’d win the match, but I said I’d hit a nine darter!
“Honestly, I don’t even know what to say when it comes to questions at the moment because my emotions are nuts. It’s like I’ve won the World Championship, but I’ve hit a nine darter in front of my home crowd, so that’s just nuts at the moment.
“I don’t know (how I kept my nerve). I believe my granddad and uncle were with me. I can’t swear, like!”
Josh Rock on how he felt when he nailed a 9-darter in front of his home fans
Up until that breathtaking leg, it had been a frustrating contest for the world number nine. The World Matchplay semi-finalist had averaged under 85 across the opening six legs and found himself trailing 5-1 against the World Championship runner-up. Van Veen, despite not being at his fluent best either, had done enough to seize control of the tie and looked poised to close it out without significant alarm.
Then came a moment of pure magic.
Rock fired in back-to-back maximums – two of his three 180s in the match – before stepping up needing 141 to complete the perfect leg. Treble 20 landed. Treble 19 followed. With the crowd already rising in anticipation, he pinned double 12 to ignite an eruption inside the arena. The roof practically lifted as thousands celebrated a piece of darting history unfolding before their eyes.
Adding further sparkle to the achievement, Rock will receive a bespoke set of solid gold darts for producing the nine-darter – a glittering reward to match a golden moment.
“Everybody went off their trolleys,” grinned Rock, who understandably found it difficult to regroup in the aftermath and ultimately slipped to a 6-2 defeat.
“Double-12 hasn’t been good to me for the last, shall we say, six months. I was like, just go in. When the treble-19 went in, I was like, please (let the double-12) go in. And I just went, bang.
“The World Cup win was even better than that but, from an individual perspective, that was unbelievable.”
Although defeat followed shortly after, the result felt almost secondary. For many inside the SSE Arena, the night belonged to Rock. It was a reminder of his explosive scoring power and his ability to produce brilliance under immense pressure, particularly in front of a partisan home crowd desperate for a hero.
The evening as a whole proved memorable beyond Rock’s heroics. Stephen Bunting claimed his first nightly Premier League victory of the season with three superb performances. The former Masters champion began by eliminating former world champion Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals, registering a career-best Premier League average of 106.63. He then overcame Jonny Clayton in the semi-finals, after the Welshman had defeated reigning world champion Luke Littler earlier in the night.
Van Veen booked his place in the final with victory over Gerwyn Price, who had earlier seen off Michael van Gerwen in the last eight. However, the Dutchman was unable to halt Bunting’s momentum in the decider, as the Liverpool thrower capped a magnificent evening by lifting the Night Four title.
Yet even amid Bunting’s triumph, it was Rock’s nine-darter that resonated most powerfully. In a competition defined by elite standards and relentless drama, the 24-year-old delivered a flash of perfection that ensured Belfast will be remembered as far more than just another stop on the Premier League roadshow.
