Josh Rock’s victory marked his first European Tour title in nearly two years [Getty Images]
Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock ended a near two-year drought on the European Tour by defeating Kevin Doets 8-6 in the final of the Austrian Darts Open on Sunday.
The 25-year-old from Broughshane won five consecutive matches in Graz to claim the £35,000 top prize and the iconic green jacket. He joked, “I’m just happy that two Northern Irishmen got a green jacket this year.”
Rock overcame Patrik Kovacs on Saturday to reach finals day, where he survived three match darts against Niko Springer in a last-leg decider to advance to the quarterfinals. He then defeated Cristo Reyes to set up an all-Northern Ireland semifinal against Daryl Gurney, winning 7-3. In the final, Rock edged out Netherlands’ Doets 8-6.
“I’m very relieved,” Rock said afterward. “To come here this weekend and win is a massive achievement. I’m just happy that two Northern Irishmen got a green jacket this year! I made my first final against Jonny [Clayton] here [in 2023], and when he got the jacket I was kind of jealous. Then Martin [Schindler] beat me last year in the semifinal and won it, so I was determined to win it this year, and I’m happy I finally got it.”
“Kevin has been playing unbelievable this year, and he has proved it by winning his first ProTour on Monday. He’s only going to keep winning more, I’m just grateful I got the edge against him in this one.”
The final saw the first four legs shared with breaks of throw before Doets edged ahead with an 11-darter. Rock responded by rattling off three straight legs, including a 170 checkout, but the Dutchman fought back to level at 6-6 after punishing a checkout error from Rock. However, Rock held his nerve, breaking back with a 78 checkout and then producing a 14-dart leg to seal his first Austrian Darts Open title and the customary green jacket.