ROCK BATTLES PAST RATAJSKI TO REACH UK OPEN SEMIS
08/03/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
JOSH ROCK admits Krzysztof Ratajski’s slow pace made life difficult for him.
World No. 9 Rock defeated ‘The Polish Eagle’ 10-7 to secure his second consecutive last-four appearance at the UK Open.
The Antrim thrower produced a superb display, averaging 99.06 and landing an impressive 10 of his 16 darts at double as he fought back from 6-4 down in the bout.
Rock admitted the tempo initially disrupted his rhythm before he found his stride and stormed back.
He said: “When you play Krysztof, you have to adapt pretty quickly. From the start I knew what I was expecting, luckily.
“But if you are a new player, you don’t know what to expect. It is hard to adapt to, but I have played Kryzstof a couple of times.
“At the start it was a struggle, but the more I got into it the better I got.
“He went 6-4 up at the break and I said to myself, look, you are still in it, you still have a chance.
“So, I am glad I took my chances.”
‘Rocky’ has brushed aside his Premier League struggles, where he is yet to pick up a win this season after five weeks.
The 24-year-old has had an impressive run in Butlins, Minehead where he has secured the scalps of William O’Connor, Dominic Gruellich and Stephen Bunting.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
