Premier League Darts: Josh Rock blames bathroom soap for Michael van Gerwen defeat

Josh Rock blamed his error-strewn display in last week’s 6-2 Premier League defeat by Michael van Gerwen in Antwerp on the soap he used in the bathroom before going on stage.

The 24-year-old was seen wiping his hands on his trousers multiple times and licking his fingers at one stage during the quarter-final contest.

Northern Ireland’s Rock believes his inability to grip the darts properly was caused by the soap and he has now sought to guard against it happening to him at future events by packing his own chalk and wax.

“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 said.

“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.

“I didn’t have to use it this week at the Players Championship, it was fine, but it must have been the soap I used.

“That was the first time it’s happened. 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.”