Premier League Darts star Josh Rock proposes unique tournament that could see him team up with Luke Littler

 

ROCKY’S DREAM TEAM: Josh Rock Calls for Unique Darts Tournament That Could See Him Partner Best Mate Luke Littler

Josh Rock is dreaming big — and not just about winning his first Premier League Darts night. The Northern Irishman has floated the idea of a unique doubles or pairs tournament format that could see him line up alongside his best friend and world number one Luke Littler, in what would arguably be the most exciting partnership darts has ever seen.

The 24-year-old from County Antrim, who is making his Premier League debut this season, is well known for his close bond with the two-time world champion. The two are inseparable off the oche — sharing a manufacturer in Target Darts, speaking almost every day, and regularly practising together in the backrooms of events. But on the international stage, the rules of the World Cup of Darts cruelly separate them. Rock represents Northern Ireland, while Littler turns out for England. They can never be on the same side at the sport’s biggest team event.

Rock’s proposal would change all that — and the darts world is paying attention.

BEST MATES WHO CAN’T BE TEAMMATES

The friendship between Rock and Littler is one of the sport’s most talked-about relationships. Littler has confirmed: “We’ve been good friends for quite a while. We’re always in the backroom chatting and practising.” Rock echoed the sentiment, joking that Littler probably messaged him as soon as both secured their spots in a semi-final, saying: “If I look at my phone, I bet he’s text me saying, see you in the semi-final boy, because me and Littler are very, very close and not a lot of people know that.”

Littler believes the friendship grew through their shared links with Target Darts and mutual connections: “I don’t even know. It might have been the youth tour. I’ve known Rob Cross many years, he has the same manager, then we all meet up at Target days.”

Yet despite talking nearly every day and training together constantly, they stand on opposite sides of the international divide. When Rock signed with Target Darts, he declared that he and Littler could “dominate the sport for years to come” — a statement that now feels more loaded than ever, given both are competing in the same Premier League field with identical ambitions.

THE WORLD CUP PROBLEM

The World Cup of Darts is darts’ premier team event, played exclusively in doubles format. It is the one competition where the sport’s biggest names set aside individual glory and fight under their national flag. And it is precisely the event that keeps Rock and Littler apart.

Rock and teammate Daryl Gurney won the World Cup of Darts for Northern Ireland for the first time in 2025, defeating Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price of Wales in a deciding leg, with Rock breaking the record for most 180s hit in a World Cup final.

England, meanwhile, sends its own duo. The nations competing at the 2026 World Cup of Darts have been confirmed, with England represented by Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, the world numbers one and two.

So while Rock and Littler will spend their Thursday evenings this spring as Premier League rivals, June’s World Cup in Frankfurt will see them on opposing sides once again — Littler wearing the Three Lions, Rock flying the flag for Northern Ireland.

For two players who spend more time together than almost anyone else on tour, it is a genuine frustration. Rock’s proposal for a new format — a standalone pairs or doubles event not tied to national allegiances — would be the solution.

A TOUGH START, BUT UNSHAKEN BELIEF

Rock’s Premier League campaign has not gone to plan so far. The debutant suffered a hat-trick of 6-2 defeats in the opening three weeks of the season, losing to Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Jonny Clayton on successive Thursday nights. But the Co. Antrim man has refused to let his head drop, and his honest assessment of the situation has won him admirers.

“I haven’t been playing badly. Everybody’s just been playing better than me,” he said. “Jonny averaged 110 and obviously I averaged 106, so there’s not much you can do unless you’re hitting 110s yourself.”

Tonight he plays his home night in Belfast — and the city is ready for him. “I think it’s going to be absolutely nuts,” Rock told BBC Sport NI. “Daryl was the last one from Northern Ireland to be part of the Premier League, in 2020, but that was prior to Covid and darts wasn’t as big back then.”

“I think it’ll mean more than any other night, obviously, but I wouldn’t say it’s added pressure. I think I’ll maybe enjoy it a lot more, because all my family and friends are there.”

RESPECT FOR THE NUKE — AND A PROMISE

Despite the slow Premier League start, Rock has been typically generous in his praise of Littler, while simultaneously making clear he has not given up on eventually getting the better of him.

After Littler’s dominant victory at the Poland Darts Open last weekend — where he averaged over 108 and dispatched Rock himself along the way — Rocky’s verdict was straightforward: “He’s the world No 1 and world champion for a reason. He is the man to beat.”

But the subtext of everything Rock says is unmistakable: he believes he can be that man. He has described 2025 and 2026 as the years he intends to announce himself at the very top of the sport. He added: “I’ve put a lot of time and effort in. I switched manufacturing company and I think that’s been the biggest difference and now I’m into the Premier League which was one of my goals.” And when BBC Sport NI asked him directly about his chances against Littler in Belfast tonight, Rock’s answer left no room for doubt: “I’ll get him yet.”

WHY IT WOULD WORK

The idea of Rock and Littler as a team is not just a fun fantasy — it is genuinely compelling on a sporting level. Both are young, fearless, and among the biggest scorers in the game. Both thrive on energy, big moments, and crowd atmosphere. As a doubles pairing, they would be almost cartoonishly dangerous, with the kind of scoring power and finishing ability that would make them near-unbeatable in the right conditions.

Rock’s proposal taps into something darts has been quietly building toward for years: a recognition that the team format is enormously popular with fans, and that freeing up the best players to choose their own partners — rather than being locked into national groupings — could produce something truly spectacular.

Whether the PDC acts on it remains to be seen. But with two of the sport’s biggest stars openly voicing interest in sharing an oche rather than standing on opposite sides of it, the pressure is building.

Tonight, though, those dreams are on hold. Rock has a job to do in Belfast, and a Premier League campaign to rescue. First things first — get that opening win on home soil. The dream team can wait.