World Cup of Darts winner Josh Rock reveals secrets of his partnership with Daryl Gurney as he lays bare his major aims amid stunning run of form

Josh Rock dials in from this interview from an airport, 21 days after he and Daryl Gurney made history in winning Northern Ireland's first World Cup of Darts title. 

A matter of hours after doing so, he was in Leicester for the latest round of Players Championship events, before he could finally take a moment off, jetting to Mallorca for a well-earned break, knowing he was a world champion.

Becoming a solo world champion is on the agenda. That could come later this year. It, at least, feels like it probably will do at some point. For Rock is still just 24, and is left somewhat speechless when reflecting on his journey alongside Gurney in Berlin last month.

'To win the World Cup for your country, not a lot of people can say they have played for their country, let alone win it,' Rock exclusively tells Mail Sport. 'I believed me and Daryl could win the World Cup, but I wasn't expecting the first time.

'I said in an interview at the start that it was the strongest Northern Ireland team we had ever had and we proved that we are.'

Rock, who married wife Sarah in January, isn't short on self-confidence. When he joined Target, he told Dan Dawson that he felt he and Luke Littler would dominate for years to come.

Rock is yet to win a major but has time on his side. Again, he is 24 - he's only getting better and is targeting the top 10 in the rankings by the end of the year. His recent form suggests he's well on his way after more joy in yet more Players Championship events in Leicester this week.

But mistake not his confidence for arrogance. Belief is a key ingredient of success, he says. And it's helped him get this far.

'I have self belief because if you don't believe then you won't achieve,' he says. 'And if you don't think you can play some of the best darts in the world then you aren't going to win.

'I'm not being big-headed. I am confident in my game, confident I am there to win. I haven't won every time I have played, I haven't won a ranking major yet - hopefully that will happen soon - but you need that belief in yourself and your game that the time will come.'

Someone who has helped him along the way is doubles partner Gurney. The World Cup is the only PDC event played in a doubles format, pitting the best two players from each country alongside each other. Rock debuted last year with Brendan Dolan but, this year, Gurney was back.

But it wasn't the first time he and Gurney had crossed paths. Far, far from it. Gurney has already spoken of how playing with Rock breathed new life into his darts career - and now it's Rock's turn to sing his partner's praise. 

'Daryl treats me like a son and I look up to him like a dad when it comes to this sport,' he says, cracking a smile. 'We spend so much time with each other.

'We go out, eat dinner together a lot of the time, travel to the European Tour all the time together. Before I joined this call I was on the phone with him for 45 minutes, he was getting the car washed. I have a very close bond with Daryl and I think that was something that helped us to win that World Cup because we are such close friends. When I came on the tour we clicked straight away.'

Much was made of the efforts of Littler and Luke Humphries at the World Cup. The best two players in the world lost their first game to Germany, and Wales' Gerwyn Price would criticise their teamwork. That's certainly not an area in which Rock and Gurney lacked.

'If I'm not hitting the scoring, he is and I'm hitting the doubles and vice versa, and that's what you call the perfect partnership,' Rock adds. 'There was one game, I think it was Ireland, then Wales or Germany... there was a bit I had where I didn't hit any trebles at all and then Daryl hit them, and then I finished off and it was reversed a bit. We did well.

'They say about individual performances but we were there as a team. We won as a team, we arrived as a team - bar one morning when he went half-hour early. I was a bit lazy wanting an extra half-hour in bed. We ate together every night and were pretty much there together from start to finish.'

'I wouldn't say I needed it or didn't need it,' he says of his holiday, which also saw him spend some time at his caravan. 'We booked it a couple of months ago and I knew it was the space I had free. It was nice to get away and we had nice weather.'

But the break is now over. Major season is around the corner in darts. Still to come this year is the World Matchplay, the Grand Prix, the Players Championship finals and then the World Championship. 

'I'd take a final,' Rock admits. 'I do aims yearly. Top-16, I have done that.

'By the end of the year I'll be in the top-16, hopefully top-10. Maybe top-eight depending what I do and win. You have to set goals.'

One of the most exciting up-and-coming stars in the sport, Rock signed with Target at the start of the year in a whirlwind month and his Gen 1 darts were born.

'I had to wait for the darts and I have proved what I can do with them,' he says. 'I had never fallen in love with a set of darts until now.

'I knew it was happening for a long time, from after the Grand Prix. They made me feel so welcome, I get on with everyone and I get looked after behind the scenes.'

Not that he necessarily needed it, but his work with Target - who are the official sponsors of Dartford Football Club this season - has taken Rock to new heights. Time will tell how much further he can go - but 'Rocky' is dreaming big.