Northern Ireland's Josh Rock secured his first title on the European Tour in almost two years with an 8-6 win over Kevin Doets in the final of the Austrian Darts Open on Sunday. The 25-year-old from Broughshane scored five straight wins in Graz to secure the £35,000 top prize and a green jacket, joking: "I'm just happy that two Northern Irishmen got a green jacket this year."
Rock saw off Patrik Kovacs on Saturday to move into finals day, where he survived three match darts against Niko Springer to come through in a last-leg decider to reach the last eight. He then overcame Cristo Reyes before an all-Northern Ireland semi-final saw Rock beat Daryl Gurney 7-3.
In the final, the opening four legs were shared with breaks of throw before Doets edged ahead thanks to an 11-darter. Rock rattled off the next three legs, which included a 170 checkout, but the Dutchman hit back as he punished a checkout error to level the final at 6-6. However, Rock held his nerve to break back thanks to a 78 checkout and, with the darts, produced a 14-dart leg to claim his first Austrian Darts Open and the customary green jacket.
"I'm very relieved," Rock said afterwards. "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 semi-final and won it, so I was determined to win it this year, and I'm happy I finally got it."
Rock added: "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."
