Northern Ireland's Josh Rock is set to make his first Premier League appearance in his home nation this Thursday at Belfast's SSE Arena, admitting his debut has come sooner than expected. The 24-year-old, who is part of the Premier League line-up for the first time this year, told BBC Sport NI that being in the tournament is "a dream come true from when I was a kid." Rock added, "I did say I would stand up on this stage when I won the Best Youth Player of the Year and Best Newcomer, but I didn't expect it to be as soon as it is. I can't wait to get up there."
Rock is still searching for his first victory of the tournament and will face Gian van Veen in the quarter-finals. He has lost all his Premier League quarter-finals so far 6-2, being defeated by Jonny Clayton in Newcastle, Michael van Gerwen in Antwerp, and Luke Humphries in Glasgow. As a result, he is currently bottom of the Premier League table on zero points, alongside Stephen Bunting. Rock commented on his form, saying, "I am playing OK, I haven't started off the Premier League as I wanted to, but I have to build the bridge and go over it. I think I have coped with it well, but obviously everyone I am playing has been playing better than me, so I just need to up the gear."
His opponent, Van Veen, 23, is also a Premier League newcomer and has had a breakthrough year, reaching the World Championship final in January after winning the European Championship in 2025, and is also a back-to-back World Youth Champion. Rock noted that Van Veen lost the Poland Darts Open against Luke Littler despite a nine-dart finish. Rock expects a hostile crowd for Van Veen in Belfast, stating he has "not one bit" of sympathy, adding, "It happened to me when we played in Holland last year. I would be surprised if he didn't get booed, but I think he will get booed the whole game. Van Veen has coped with the crowds and I think he will be OK." Rock hopes the Northern Irish support will help him, saying, "The best eight players in the world are there for a reason and it is going to be tough to beat them so hopefully that Northern Irish crowd is going to get on my side and I can beat Van Veen."
Reflecting on the Premier League season, Rock pointed out it has been an exciting start with three different winners so far: Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, and Jonny Clayton have won the opening nights of the 16-week league phase before the play-offs at the O2 Arena on 28 May. He added, "It is good to see different winners, but the Premier League is a lot different to majors. The first major of the year Luke Littler won it, shock. Who was in the final? Luke Humphries. When it comes to the ranking majors, it is hard to look past the two Lukes then everyone else when in the Premier League." Live text commentary from night four will be available on the BBC Sport website and app.
