PAUL NICHOLSON believes that Saturday's Betfair World Matchplay opener against Andy Smith is his most important game of 2012.
The Australian World Cup of Darts star will kick off this year's Betfair World Matchplay on Saturday evening, as he bids to taste glory at the Winter Gardens.
Having enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame after breaking through in 2008 in which he won his first major title inside 18 months of turning professional, Nicholson has adopted a lower-profile approach to his game this year.
The world number 15 is taking that into his preparations for the Betfair World Matchplay, and is focusing solely on his clash with Smith in Blackpool.
"My matches and performances throughout my career have always been overshadowed by publicity," said Nicholson, on his official website. "What I've tried to do this year is keep a lower profile and just play darts.
"It's all about winning that first match and that's all I'm thinking about at the moment.
"You have to look at events like this in a different way, with massive emphasis on the first round.
"The first game is like a final and then, if you win your 'first' final, you look at the rest of the tournament like a completely different event because of the few days gap until you play again.
"Saturday night is the most important game of the year so far for me and if I do manage to get through it, I'll tackle the rest afterwards."
Nicholson has been struggling at times this year to overcome a shoulder problem, but he said: "It's giving me a lot less pain than it had been.
"What was happening was that I would manage to play through the pain one day, but the next day it would take an awfully long time for my shoulder to loosen up because of the pain added by the previous day's play.
"I'm glad to say that the pain has subsided a lot quicker than I thought and I'm feeling much more comfortable now."
Smith took victory when the pair previously met in a major, at the 2010 European Championship, and Nicholson admitted: "I've had some really good battles with Andy, where we have both scored high averages.
"He beat me last time we played on TV, so I know it will be a hard game, but I missed a lot of doubles that day and I'll be making sure I get the job done this time."
The Betfair World Matchplay will be held from July 21-29 at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Tickets for the event are still available by calling the Winter Gardens Box Office on 0844 856 1111 or by visiting www.blackpoollive.com.