Nicholson earned qualification for the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship through the DPA rankings. He defeated Adrian Gray in the first round, winning all nine legs for a three sets to nil victory. He then beat world number 6 Adrian Lewis in the second round 4–3 and then came from two sets down to beat world number 11 Dennis Priestley 4–2 to advance to the quarter finals. In the quarter-finals, he lost to world number 3 at the time, James Wade but his tournament performance lifted him into the top 50 on the PDC Order of Merit.