Rock continues to rise further in world rankings after new milestone

The meteoric rise of one of darts' newest stars shows no signs of stopping any time soon as Josh Rock continues to move up the PDC Order of Merit following his run to the final of the Austrian Darts Open.

After reaching the first European Tour final of his career, the 22-year-old Northern Irishman has now reached a career-high ranking of 30th. The £12,000 won by Rock at the Austrian Darts Open has seen him rise above the experienced duo of Raymond van Barneveld and Mervyn King from 32nd to his current 30th.

Having begun the year ranked 36th, Rock has now already moved up six places in the Order of Merit and although, as mentioned, he has now reached a new career high, it's surely only a matter of time before Rocky is once again on the rise as his upwards trajectory shows no signs of slowing down.

Elsewhere, the man who defeated Rock in the final of the Austrian Darts Open in Graz, Jonny Clayton is breathing right down the neck of the world number 6 Luke Humphries courtesy of the added £30,000 to have ranking prize money. The fan favourite of the weekend, Mensur Suljovic has also risen from 35th to 34th thanks to a quarter-final run that saw him beat both the world number 1 Michael Smith and the world number 2 Peter Wright.