Former PDC Tour winner Paul Nicholson has confirmed his retirement from darts, and he did so midway through a match. ‘The Asset’ was working commentary during a recent MODUS Super Series event when he announced his playing days were over.
Nicholson, 46, reached the peak of his powers around 2010, the same year he won his only televised title at the Players Championship. He went on to reach the deciding match at the 2011 Championship League, as well as having a runner-up finish at the 2012 World Cup of Darts. But despite never officially calling time on his career, the Newcastle-born star has now rubber-stamped his exit as a player. And former World Championship quarter-finalist Nicholson was commentating on a Seniors Showdown matchup between Johnny Haines and Terry Jenkins when he surprised viewers with the news.
“I can actually tell you, at this point in time, I’ve never said this out loud until now, I am retired,” said. “I have decided to not play darts anymore.
“That is something I’ve said to myself over the new year. I am 100 per cent media now and I’ve decided not to play darts anymore.”
Not everyone will take the development as a shock, considering Nicholson has been departed from the upper echelons of the sport for some time. He hasn’t been a part of the PDC since 2019, when he decided to skip Q School in order to work on his game.
However, a return has never materialised, and now never will. Nicholson, who knows a thing or two about how quickly one can fall out of the limelight, will instead look to put his penchant for showmanship to better use by working from the sidelines.
As well as winning the Players Championship, The Asset also garnered attention for some flamboyant entrances, not to mention his brief feud with darts legend Phil Taylor. The pair had several tense run-ins over the course of a couple of years and exchanged in a bit of verbal back-and-forth through the media.
Nicholson infamously defeated ‘The Power’ to reach the quarter-finals of the 2011 UK Open, after which he made the brave decision to wave the icon off the stage. It would end up being a poor decision, however, as Taylor never lost another match to Nicholson over the course of his career.
In fact, after losing each of their first two encounters in 2010 and 2011, Taylor embarked on a 14-win streak against Nicholson. The 16-time world champion also referred to his rival as “very, very silly” and said he had “a big mouth” that he struggled to keep shut.
Nicholson was something of a pantomime villain at the top of his game and revelled in the theatrical side of the sport. However, he didn’t have a chance to show it in recent years after falling out of the limelight.
He represented his adopted nation of Australia in competition and even faced Taylor in a World Cup final. His appearances would routinely usher in a chorus of boos among fans, many of whom wanted to see him fail.
That being said, those talents could well be put to good use with the former PDC regular on the mic instead. And fans haven’t heard the last of him despite his retirement from playing.