A new name was added to the 2024 Euro Tour roll of honour, as Josh Rock won the 2024 Elten Dutch Darts Championship in Rosmalen, beating Jonny Clayton 8-4 in front of a raucous Dutch crowd after a stunning tournament.
In a direct rematch of the 2023 Interwetten Austrian Darts Open, where The Ferret beat Rocky 8-6, the pair exchanged breaks of throw to be tied 4-4 in a race to 8.
Clayton was left to rue to his mistakes, squandering multiple opportunities to take the lead as Rock pulled ahead and didn’t look back, taking the remaining four legs without reply to win the first main stage title of his young PDC career.
Rock enjoyed a stellar weekend, brilliant dispatching of Dirk Van Duijvenbode on Saturday, before an enthralling match with Cameron Menzies saw Rock prevail in a last leg shootout.
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In Sunday’s evening session, Rock produced one of the performances of his career to easily better Gerwyn Price, before producing a comeback of his own to defeat the in-form Martin Schindler to book his place in the final.
ROCK BREAKS NEW GROUND! 👏
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) May 26, 2024
What a moment for Josh Rock, who celebrates his maiden European Tour title in Rosmalen! 🏆
The Northern Irishman runs out an 8-4 winner against Jonny Clayton to win the 2024 Dutch Darts Championship! pic.twitter.com/sexyCJycGg
Rock is now set to captain Northern Ireland at next month’s World Cup event in Dortmund, partnering Brendan Dolan after fellow Northern Irishman Daryl Gurney saw his hopes of retaining a place on the team ended by an early exit in Rosmalen.
All but one of the eight Premier League players were absent from Rosmalen, with local hero Michael Van Gerwen storming his way to the semi finals after successive wins of 6-0, 6-1 and 6-1, before meeting Clayton in the semi-final.
Racing into a 4-0 lead in the race to 7, he was then on the receiving end of vintage Clayton, whose clinical finishing allowed him to complete a monumental comeback against the Dutchman, who now sets his sights on retaining his US Darts Masters trophy in New York City.
Clayton meanwhile, already confirmed for the World Matchplay, will be looking to retain a title of his own, as he and compatriot Gerwyn Price will be one of the favourites to win the World Cup. With the bulk of the pairings confirmed for Dortmund, it’s hard to look past the English duo of World Champion Luke Humphries and former World Champion Michael Smith.
By Jaspar Shepherdson
(@jasparshepmedia on X/Twitter and Instagram)
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