Nicholson names Painter in his top five characters of darts: "He’s got a great sense of humour, an infectious laugh and is just a tremendous character"

Painter like Nicholson is most famous title wise for his victory in the Players Championship Finals, with his classic 2004 PDC World Championship final standing out.

For many, he is known for his determination on the oche and his watchable throw and 'The Asset' discussed first hand what makes 'The Artist' both on and off the oche, one of the best characters.

"He’s got a great sense of humour, an infectious laugh and is just a tremendous character once you get to know what he’s about behind the scenes," said Nicholson on SportingLife.

I’ve practiced with a lot of different people throughout my career and when it comes to darts, Kevin is about as intense as you can get, but once he switches his game brain off, he’s a completely different person."

"On the oche, Kevin was never ashamed of being fierce well before that kind of on-stage persona became the norm, and that’s why I was so intrigued about him in the era when he made the final of the World Championship and even earlier.

He might mind me saying this, but when he’s in a competitive environment during a tournament, he’s borderline unapproachable. And after a defeat you had to accept it was going to take him some time to come down – especially at the time in his career when he was one of the best players and not used to being defeated."

Nicholson also discussed Painter away from the oche and said that he is one of the best to talk to and that he got somewhere not due to talent but sheer hard work.

"Get him away from the game and he’s also very funny, and you can be talking to him for hours if you bring up Gavin and Stacey! He’s also become a movie buff during lockdown because he came up with the idea of watching a new film every day so if you ask him about his favourites then I’m sure he won’t stop either," he continued.

"There was a perception that he thought he was better than everyone else, but I’m not sure that’s true. He’s always been one of the boys, going back to his BDO days when he represented England and Essex.

Was he one of the most naturally gifted players? Probably not. Was he one of the hardest working players to get in the position that he did? Absolutely."

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