Josh Rock progressed to the knockout stages of the Grand Slam of Darts for the very first time, but his brutal self assessment has stolen the headlines.
Rock revealed he has lost over two stone in nine weeks after realising ‘I was too fat’ in a candid discussion about his lifestyle overhaul.
Josh Rock Makes Brutal Self Assessment After Admitting ‘I Was Too Fat’
Josh Rock booked his place in the last 16 of the Grand Slam of Darts field, topping Group F in the process with four points to his name. Rock defeated recent European Championship winner Gian van Veen 5-2 on Tuesday night to book his place in the knockout stages of the Grand Slam for the very first time.
The Northern Irishman lost his first game to Dutchman Wessel Nijman 5-4, who also progressed from Group F as the runner-up. After losing his opening game, ‘Rocky’ then defeated Lisa Ashton 5-0 before cementing his place in the last 16 with a 5-2 victory over van Veen to top the group.
The 24-year-old has now set up a last 16 tie with Englishman Connor Scutt on Thursday night, with the winner facing the winner of Luke Littler vs Wessel Nijman in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Rock is eyeing up his first major and has been knocking on the door of late, but so far is yet to get over the line in a big PDC major title. This could be the week of course, as he looks to hit form just before the 2026 World Darts Championship in December.
After booking his place in the last 16 with a win over Dutchman van Veen, Rock admitted that it has been a lifestyle change off the oche that has helped pick up his form on the dart board.
In a candid post-match interview with a collection of darts media members, Rock made a brutal assessment as to why he needed to make changes to his lifestyle in order to regain his form on the oche:
“I was too fat so I had to clearly change something in my life and now I’ve done it,” revealed ‘Rocky’.
Josh Rock Shares Weight Loss Journey After Lifestyle Overhaul
Josh Rock has been one of the most in-form darts players in the world this year. He has hit a nine-dart finish on six different occasions since gaining his PDC tour card back in 2022, but has admitted that he has gained far too much weight since being a professional darts player.
At 24-years-old, Rock could be the future of darts alongside the likes of Luke Littler and even female star Beau Greaves, with a potentially long and fruitful career ahead of him. That was one reason for Rock’s recent lifestyle change, which has seen him lose over two stone in weight in a little over two months.
When questioned on his recent health kick and fitness journey, the Northern Irishman revealed that he has been doing the basics such as exercising more and eating less.
“Nine weeks I’ve been on it and I’ve lost two stone, two-and-a-half pounds,” Rock told Online Darts after his Group F winning victory over Gian van Veen on Tuesday night.
“When I joined the PDC I was a skinny young boy and then you come here now and you’re a fat boy so I knew I had to change something behind the scenes,” Rock said.
Rock’s brutal assessment of his lifestyle has certainly seemed to pay off on the oche, with the multiple Players Championship winner having climbed into the top 10 in the official PDC Order of Merit and top five in the latest darts power rankings.
There has even been talk of ‘Rocky’ making the Premier League Darts line-up next year. Should he have a strong finish to the year and perform well at the Grand Slam, Players Championship Finals and of course the Worlds, he could well be in line for a call up to the Premier League next year.
All of this is partly thanks to Josh Rock’s recent lifestyle overhaul and fitness journey.
