PAUL NICHOLSON is feeding from the excitement of Australian fans over the arrival of the Sydney Darts Masters on Thursday.
Nicholson, the UK-born star who has represented Australia in the past 18 months, will be one of the players carrying home hopes in the 16-player, three-day knockout at Luna Park in Sydney.
The event sold out within seven weeks of tickets going on sale, while the Sydney Darts Masters will also be the first with Australian channel FOX SPORTS as the pay-broadcaster, from 8pm Sydney time (11am London time).
Nicholson and fellow Australian Simon Whitlock, the world number four and former European Champion, also enjoyed a successful promotional visit to Melbourne recently, and the former Players Championship Finals winner is determined to reward home fans with a trophy on Saturday.
"Simon and I spoke for hours on the plane coming over to Australia about how exited we are to be playing in front of home fans," said Nicholson, 34.
"It's great to see the fans are getting on board and starting to enjoy it, and we're very excited about where it's going.
"We're very excited about what's happening. It's the right time to bring it to Australia and see how we can run with it in this country.
"We've a great nucleus of players here, and it will be good for them to pit their wits against some of the best in the world and for people to be able to see it live.
"Fox Sports have been phenomenal in airing the tournament and we're very hopeful about what's going to happen. It's sold out and we feel it's the start of something quite large in this country.
"For me and Simon, who are representing Australia on the PDC circuit, we're very excited about where darts is going in Australia. We feel that it's time for darts to boom in Australia, and the signs are right."
Nicholson has also revealed, in an interview with Sydney's 2SSR Radio Station on Sunday night, that he will be adopting a new look in the near future to add to his previous shirt-and-tie combination.
"I'm working on a new image which is a little bit more Australian and that will come as the year progresses," added Nicholson. "I'm going to use a bit more green and gold, and I've been working with a new designer in Victoria recently.
"I want to prove to people that I'm not just an image, that I'm a great player too. I think I can be both, but I've got to be smart about the way I go about things."