"I was a 'star boy,' he's a 'star boy' now" - Josh Rock happy to pass on pressure of darts' future to Luke Littler

Josh Rock has very convincingly qualified for the last sixteen of the 2024 Flanders Darts Trophy in Antwerp. The 23-year-old Northern Irishman was far too strong for Dutchman Jitse van der Wal in the second round, 6-0.

Rock particularly impressed at the Antwerp Expo, reaching an almost 104 average and giving his opponent just the one chance at a double. Still, he was somewhat surprised by his strong performance. "I didn't touch a dart for two weeks," Rock explained to Het Nieuwsblad. "My daughter only recently came into this world so I devoted all my attention to her. So that thumb was for her because it was my first competition as a dad."

'Rocky' was also particularly complimentary of the Belgian audience. "I love the Belgians. For the past two years, they have been by far the most respectful audience," he says warmly. "There's no whistling, there's no booing ... It doesn't matter who's on stage."

The now 23-year-old Rock has been tipped as one of the stars of the future in the PDC over recent years. Meanwhile, however, Luke Littler seems to have taken over that role. "None of that bothers me," Rock says. "I like to fly under the radar, no problem at all. From me, Luke can claim all the attention and therefore take the pressure off me. I'm happy with how I'm pitching the past few months and you can't quite compare the hype either, so let me do it quietly (laughs)."

"I was a 'star boy,' he's a 'star boy' now. It's really from a different level. He doesn't care either," Rock concludes. "We're good friends and I talk to him often, and that's what I often say to him: 'You really don't care about anything, do you?' He handles all the attention much better than I do. So let him be the star!"