Premier League darts star blames poor performance on pre-match toilet visit

Josh Rock slipped to a 6-2 defeat against Michael van Gerwen in Antwerp

Josh Rock has endured a difficult start in the Premier League (PA) (PA Archive)

Darts player Josh Rock has revealed an unusual culprit behind his recent Premier League defeat in Antwerp: a pre-match visit to the toilet.

The Northern Irishman attributed his 6-2 quarter-final loss to Michael van Gerwen on night two of the weekly roadshow to slippery hands, caused by the soap in the backstage facilities.

Rock explained that the incident left him unable to properly grip his darts. "I went to the toilet just before I went on stage and obviously you wash your hands after going to the toilet, so I put the soap all over my hands and the next minute I’m up there, and I was like, ‘This isn’t going to go well’," he recounted.

"I just could not feel it at all. So now we’ve got a plan B, I’ve got a bit of chalk and wax in the case from now on."

The debutant in the Premier League circuit confirmed this was a unique occurrence.

"That was the first time it’s happened. That was definitely the first time," he stated.

Michael van Gerwen took advantage of Rock’s woes to claim a dominant win (PA) (PA Wire)

"It must be just whatever soap was in the toilet at Antwerp that I used and it just obviously took all the oils out of my finger and lost all grip."

Despite the setback, Rock has managed to put the episode behind him as he prepares to compete for his first points of the Premier League season in Glasgow on Thursday.

He found humour in the situation, noting, "I actually laughed at it straight away, because I knew what the problem was. If I played like that and didn’t know what the problem was then, obviously we have an issue."

He added, "I knew I couldn’t grip my hands and no matter how much I was trying to lick my fingers, rub my finger up and down a barrel to get my fingers rough, it wasn’t working, so I just let that one go."

Rock is set to open against Luke Humphries in Glasgow. As a staunch Rangers fan, he hopes the crowd will be on his side, especially with Celtic playing in the Europa League.

"Luckily, Celtic are playing in the Europa League tomorrow, so hopefully they’re all out and there’s only Rangers fans in," he quipped.

Confident in his abilities, he concluded, "It’s on the day. If I turn up, I win. If I don’t turn up, I don’t win."

In the other quarter-final matches, Luke Littler will face Van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton is scheduled against Gian van Veen, and Gerwyn Price will play Stephen Bunting.