ROCK NAMES HARDEST MAN IN DARTS
25/02/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
JOSH ROCK admits the HARDEST man in darts is William O’Connor.
‘Rocky’ revealed that O’Connor previously trained and competed in combat sports earlier in his life.
World No.9 Rock says he would trust the Limerick thrower to back him up in any physical confrontation.
Rock also believes fellow compatriot Daryl Gurney would be useful in a scrap, but insists O’Connor is the toughest operator away from the oche.
He told talkSPORT: “Willie O’Connor. If I needed someone to back me up in a fight, Willie O’Connor straight away.
“He used to do kickboxing years ago and he just knows how to fight. Daryl [Gurney] would be handy enough too.
“I’m not going to say who I fancy the chances to win between the two of them. I can’t always pick my World Cup partner.
“I pick Willie. I think Willie would last a bit longer than Daryl [in a misfits boxing match].
“There is no one else. Willie would take on Boris Krcmar. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Rock had a stellar 2025 campaign reaching the semi-final of THREE major events and winning the World Cup of Darts for Northern Ireland.
The 24-year-old has yet to triumph in an individual PDC Premier event, though he fancies his chances in every tournament on the calendar apart from the World Grand Prix.
He added: “No. I will never win the Grand Prix. I will win everything bar the Grand Prix. I hate that tournament.
“I’m okay now at finishing doubles. But if you have to start on a double and finish on a double, it is not a good combination.
“It’s just a different game to get your head wrapped around. It was weird this year that the World Grand Prix and the Matchplay had the exact same draws as last year.
“At least I can make the two of them better than I did last year!”
Rock returns to action on Wednesday afternoon at the Players Championship Five in Leicester.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
