Josh Rock got married two days before travelling to Milton Keynes for the Winmau World Masters (Image: GETTY)
Josh Rock joked that he would not be bringing his wife to Milton Keynes for a honeymoon after making a winning start at the Winmau World Masters.
The 23-year-old secured a comfortable 3-1 victory over Jermaine Wattimena to book his place in the second round. It came just two days after he became a married man, with no plans for an immediate honeymoon.
Speaking after his victory on Thursday night, Rock joked that Milton Keynes was no place to bring his new wife with the happy couple putting their honeymoon dreams on hold.
“Two years ago we booked it, it was obviously a lot easier back then, but then when it was the moment, it was a lot different,” said Rock.
The 23-year-old breezed past Jermaine Wattimena to reach the second round (Image: GETTY)
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“I handled it well. The wife texted me. She went: ‘The ring didn’t bother you anyway?’ I went: ‘No, it definitely didn’t’. That’ll be on for life now. I wasn’t bringing her to Milton Keynes for a honeymoon! That’ll be a couple of years yet.”
Rock was recently given some new darts by sponsor Target and credited the fresh set of arrows with spurring him on to victory against Wattimena.
“I’ve been prepared for a month now, with the new equipment I’ve been practicing like mad and I proved it,” he added.
“The first leg was pressurised and as soon as I hit the double, I gave it a good celebration. I went: ‘That’s the first leg over as a married man’. A new set of darts, I was happy and then I relaxed after that.
“I feel absolutely fantastic. It’s been a bit of a short notice, obviously, because I got married on Tuesday and I’m here today, so I’m very happy with the performance and happy to win.
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“I loved the format until he said game shot, because I stopped and that’s when he gave the celebration. Happy to get 2025 off to a winning start.”
It remains to be seen if Rock can pull off a huge upset by winning the Winmau World Masters ahead of players like Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and reigning champion Stephen Bunting.
Earlier this month, having been upstaged by his teenage rival as the next big thing in darts.
“Luke winning the Worlds at such a young age shows it is a young man’s sport now,” said Rock. “My game is there to challenge, it always has been, it just has to come out when it needs to.
“There are six years between me and Luke. We can have a very long career. I believe that me and him will dominate the sport, 100 per cent.”