Northern Irish darts ace Josh Rock picks up two PDC awards

Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock has rounded off a stunning first 12 months on tour by winning both PDC Best Newcomer and Young Player of the Year.

By Johnny Morton

Published 31st Jan 2023, 10:54 BST

Updated 31st Jan 2023, 11:04 BST

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In his maiden year of holding a coveted Tour Card, the 21-year-old won a ProTour title, reached the semi-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts and landed a famous nine-darter on TV against Michael van Gerwen.

Performances like that have cemented Rock’s status as the sport’s most exciting prospect and sent him flying up the world rankings to number 36.

‘Rocky’ also won the 2022 PDC World Youth Championship with a 6-1 final victory over Nathan Girvan, breaking the record for highest average in a youth final (104.13) in the process, and made it to the fourth round in the main competition before being edged out in a final-set thriller by Jonny Clayton.

The Broughshane native is set for another big year at the top table of darts and will be hoping to build on his early success

Michael van Gerwen