Robert Milkins

Robert Milkins

Robert Milkins at the 2012 Paul Hunter Classic
Born (1976-03-06) 6 March 1976
Sport country  England
Nickname The Milkman
Professional 1995–[1]
Highest ranking 12 (February–March 2014)[2]
Current ranking 21 (as of 2 May 2016)
Career winnings £821,665[3]
Highest break 147 (2006 World Championship Qualifiers, 2012 World Championship Qualifiers)
Century breaks 121[4]
Best ranking finish Semi-finals (x5)
Tournament wins
Non-ranking 1

Robert Milkins (born 6 March 1976) is an English professional snooker player from Gloucester.

Career

Milkins turned professional in 1995, but dropped off the Main Tour when it was reduced in size after the 1996/1997 season, but returned a year later via the UK Tour. After four seasons of solid progress with occasional last-16 runs, he reached the last 16 of the World Snooker Championship in 2002, and the first round in each of the next three years.

He made history in qualifying for the 2006 World Snooker Championship by making a 147 break in his match against Mark Selby. He became only the sixth player to achieve a maximum in the tournament, and the first to do so in qualifying (as a result, he earned £5,000; in the main tournament it would have been worth £147,000).[5] He ultimately lost to Selby 4–10, becoming only the second player to lose a World Championship match despite a 147, the other being Ronnie O'Sullivan against Marco Fu in 2003. Milkins also made a maximum break against Xiao Guodong in the fourth qualifying round of the 2012 tournament, and this time he won the match 10–4. He has also been on the wrong end of a 147 in the tournament – Mark Williams completed a 10–1 victory in the first round of the 2005 tournament with a final-frame maximum.

In 2005 he reached the Irish Masters semi-final, but lost 8–9 against Matthew Stevens.[6]

He lost in the final qualifying round of the World Championships for the second year in a row in 2007 – 10–4 against Mark Allen. In 2008 he did not get this far, losing 10–4 to Barry Pinches.

At the 2006 Grand Prix he and Ronnie O'Sullivan were the only players to win all 5 group matches, however Milkins lost 5–0 to eventual finalist Jamie Cope in the last 16. The 2007/2008 season was a poor one for Milkins, and he has slipped down the rankings to number 51.

Milkins had a strong run at the 2008 Bahrain Championship. After being elevated into the top 48 seeds due to a clash with previously-arranged Premier League Snooker matches, he won two qualifiers before reaching the quarter-finals at the venue, defeating Michael Holt 5–4 in the last 16 having trailed 0–3.

In 2009, Milkins joined player management company on Q Promotions.

Milkins reached the second ranking event semi-final of his career in the 2012 World Open. He qualified for the tournament with 5–1 and 5–0 wins over Sam Craigie and Ryan Day respectively. He was required to play in a wildcard round once at the event in Haikou, China, where he beat amateur Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon 5–3 to set up a first round encounter against Stephen Maguire which Milkins won by another 5–3 scoreline.[7] He defeated Jin Long 5–2, before dispatching reigning world champion John Higgins 5–3 in the quarter-finals.[8] However, Milkins lost his last 4 encounter with Stephen Lee 2–6 and admitted after the match his performance levels had dropped from his previous displays in the tournament.[9] Milkins also reached the second round of the Shanghai Masters and the first round of the UK Championship during the 2011/2012 season and made a 147 break in the qualifying stage of the World Championship.[7] He finished 2011/12 ranked world number 36.

Milkins began the 2012/2013 season by qualifying for the Wuxi Classic by beating Liu Chuang and Ryan Day. Once at the venue in China he came through the wildcard round and then defeated Andrew Higginson 5–3, world number two Judd Trump 5–3 (after being 1–3 down) to reach the quarter-finals where he was on the wrong side of a 5–3 scoreline against Ricky Walden.[10][11] After this Milkins lost in the qualifying draw of the Australian Goldfields Open and in the first round of four consecutive ranking events.[10] He bucked the trend at the Welsh Open by scoring 4–1 and 4–2 wins over Mark Williams and Sam Baird, but lost 1–5 to Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals.[12] Milkins followed this up by reaching the second round of both the World Open and the China Open, losing to Mark Allen and Stuart Bingham respectively.[10]

Milkins finished 41st on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit, outside of the top 26 who secured berths into the Finals.[13] However, he took part in all three of the new Asian PTC's and performed well enough to finish 5th on the Order of Merit, which was high enough to qualify for the Finals.[14] There, Milkins lost 2–4 to Anthony McGill in the first round.[10] Milkins qualified for the World Championship for the first time in eight years by defeating six-time runner-up Jimmy White 10–5 in the final qualifying round.[15] Milkins was drawn against world number two and 2010 champion Neil Robertson in the first round, and defeated him 10–8 having trailed 2–5 and described the win as the best of his career afterwards.[16] He found himself 3–9 down to Ricky Walden in the second round, but stormed back into the match to only trail 10–11 before falling short of completing a remarkable comeback as Walden secured the two frames he required to seal a 13–11 win.[17] His successful season saw him rise 18 places in the rankings to world number 18, the highest he has ended a season to date.[18]

2013/2014 season

He continued his form into the 2013 Wuxi Classic, the first ranking event of the 2013/2014 season. Milkins beat John Astley 5–0, Jimmy White 5–3, Scott Donaldson 5–1 and Anthony Hamilton 5–3.[19] In Milkins' third ranking event semi-final of his career he faced new world number one Neil Robertson and lost all four frames in the first mini session, going on to be beaten 2–6.[20][21] His consistent play carried into the next ranking event, the Australian Goldfields Open by seeing off Ben Woollaston 5–3, Rory McLeod 5–2 and Tom Ford 5–3 to reach another semi-final.[19] Milkins was 1–4 down against Marco Fu, but pulled it back to 4–4 before losing the next two frames to fall short of making his first ranking final.[22] Milkins advanced to the fourth round of the 2013 UK Championship, but was thrashed 6–0 by Ronnie O'Sullivan.[23] Nevertheless, he was ranked inside the top 16 after the event to qualify for the Masters for the first time in his career.[24] He faced O'Sullivan in a one sided match once again with Milkins losing 6–1.[25]

Milkins' season finished in disappointment as he lost in qualifying for the German Masters and China Open, the first round of the Welsh Open and second round of the World Open.[19] His match against Michael Wasley in the final round of World Championship qualifying went to a re-spotted black in the deciding frame which Wasley potted to beat Milkins 10–9.[26] He dropped out of the top 16 by the end of the season to finish it as the world number 20.[27]

2014/2015 season

Milkins began the season well once again by beating Liang Wenbo 5–3 and John Higgins 5–2 to play Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals of the Australian Goldfields Open and was defeated 5–2.[28][29] He eliminated Barry Pinches 6–2, Shaun Murphy 6–1 and Xiao Guodong 6–4 to play in the quarter-finals of the International Championship.[30] A high quality match with Marco Fu followed which Milkins edged 6–5. He said ahead of his match with Ricky Walden that he had to forget it was a semi-final and focus on his game in an attempt to reach his first ranking event final.[31] However, it would be a fifth exit at the last four stage as Milkins was thrashed 9–2.[32] In November, he reached the final of the minor-ranking Ruhr Open, but lost 4–0 against Murphy.[33]

Milkins did not drop a frame in seeing off Michael Leslie and Marcus Campbell at the UK Championship, but was then whitewashed 6–0 by Graeme Dott in the last 32.[30] In the first round of the Masters he was beaten 6–4 by Robertson having been 4–3 ahead.[34] Milkins won through to the quarter-finals of the Indian Open and lost 4–1 to Mark Williams.[30] After he overcame Michael White 5–1 at the China Open, Milkins knew that he had to reach the final to enter the top 16 in the world rankings and avoid playing three qualifying matches for the World Championship.[35] In his fourth ranking event quarter-final of the season, Milkins led Mark Selby on four occasions but each time he levelled and Selby won the deciding frame 71–0.[36] Milkins did win three matches to qualify for the World Championship and lost 10–5 to John Higgins in the opening round.[37] Milkins finished the season inside the top 16 for the first time in his career as he was 16th.[38]

Personal life

Milkins has spoken openly about problems with debt, lack of motivation and over-dependence on alcohol consumption.[16] He is now a father of two and was coached by 1979 World Champion Terry Griffiths up until the end of the 2014/2015 season.[16] Milkins is often seen in the Gloucester branch of William Hill ploughing £20 notes in to the Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, and after one particularly bad session, attempted unsuccessfully to sell his snooker cue to the shop staff for a £20 credit on one of the machines, a decision he described as being "potentially disastrous" to his career.[39]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1995/
96		 1996/
97		 1997/
98		 1998/
99		 1999/
00		 2000/
01		 2001/
02		 2002/
03		 2003/
04		 2004/
05		 2005/
06		 2006/
07		 2007/
08		 2008/
09		 2009/
10		 2010/
11		 2011/
12		 2012/
13		 2013/
14		 2014/
15		 2015/
16		 2016/
17
Ranking[40][nb 1] UR[nb 2] 231 91[nb 3] 99 100 75 54 33 21 28 26 32 47 51 55 36 33 36 18 20 16 21
Ranking tournaments
Australian Goldfields Open[nb 4] NR Not held LQ LQ SF QF 2R
Shanghai Masters Not held LQ LQ LQ WR 2R 1R 2R 1R 1R
International Championship Not held 1R 1R SF LQ
UK Championship LQ 2R A LQ 3R 2R 1R QF 1R 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ 1R 1R 4R 3R 2R
German Masters[nb 5] LQ LQ A NR Not held 1R LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ
Welsh Open LQ LQ A 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ QF 1R 3R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ QF 1R 1R 2R
World Grand Prix[nb 6] LQ LQ A 1R 1R 3R LQ LQ 1R 2R 1R 2R LQ LQ QF LQ SF 2R 2R NR DNQ
Players Championship Grand Final[nb 7] Not held DNQ DNQ 1R DNQ 1R 2R
China Open[nb 8] Not held NR LQ LQ LQ LQ Not held 1R LQ LQ LQ 1R 1R 2R LQ 2R LQ QF 2R
World Championship LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ 2R LQ 1R 1R
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A A A A LQ LQ A A A 1R 1R A
Championship League Not held A A A A A RR RR RR RR
World Seniors Championship Tournament Not Held A A A A A QF
Variant format tournaments
Six-red World Championship[nb 9] Not Held A A A NH A 2R 1R 2R
Shoot-Out Not Held F 3R 2R 1R 1R QF
Former ranking tournaments
Dubai Classic[nb 10] LQ LQ Not held
Malta Grand Prix Non-ranking 2R NR Not held
Thailand Masters[nb 11] LQ LQ A LQ LQ LQ LQ NR Not held NR Not held
Scottish Open[nb 12] LQ LQ A LQ 2R LQ 1R 2R 1R Not held MR Not held
British Open LQ 1R A LQ 2R 3R LQ 1R 1R 2R Not held
Irish Masters Non-ranking event 1R LQ SF NH NR Not held
Malta Cup[nb 13] LQ 1R NH LQ Not held 1R 1R LQ 1R 1R 1R NR Not held
Northern Ireland Trophy Not held NR 2R LQ LQ Not held
Bahrain Championship Not held QF Not held
Wuxi Classic[nb 14] Not held Non-ranking QF SF 2R NH
Indian Open Not Held LQ QF NH
Former non-ranking tournaments
World Grand Prix Not Held 2R R
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)		 QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Held means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event means an event is/was a ranking event.
MR / Minor-Ranking Event means an event is/was a minor-ranking event.
  1. ↑ From the 2010/2011 season it shows the ranking at the beginning of the season.
  2. ↑ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  3. ↑ He was not on the Main Tour.
  4. ↑ The event was called the Australian Masters (1995/1996)
  5. ↑ The event was called the German Open (1995/1996–1997/1998)
  6. ↑ The event was called the Grand Prix (1995/1996–2000/2001 and 2004/2005–2009/2010), the LG Cup (2001/2002–2003/2004), the World Open (2010/2011) and the Haikou World Open (2011/2012–2013/2014)
  7. ↑ The event was called the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals (2010/2011–2012/2013)
  8. ↑ The event was called the China International (1997/1998–1998/1999)
  9. ↑ The event was called the Six-red Snooker International (2008/2009) and the Six-red World Grand Prix (2009/2010)
  10. ↑ The event was called the Thailand Classic (1995/1996) and the Asian Classic (1996/1997)
  11. ↑ The event was called the Thailand Open (1995/1996–1996/1997)
  12. ↑ The event was called the International Open (1995/1996–1997/1998) and the Players Championship (2003/2004)
  13. ↑ The event was called the European Open (1995/1996–1996/1997 and 2001/2002–2003/2004) and the Irish Open (1998/1999)
  14. ↑ The event was called the Jiangsu Classic (2008/2009–2009/2010)

Career finals

Minor-ranking event finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2014 Ruhr Open England Shaun Murphy 0–4

Non-ranking event finals: 1 (1 title)

Legend
Masters (0–0)
Premier League (0–0)
Other (1–0)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 2009 Pro Challenge Series – Event 3 England Joe Jogia 5–3

Variant event finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 2011 Snooker Shoot-Out England Nigel Bond 24–58 (points)

References

  1. ↑ "Official player profile of Robert Milkins". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. "Players Alphabetical" section.
  2. ↑ "World Rankings after Gdynia Open (ET8) 2014" (PDF). worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "Prize Money – All-time, Professional". CueTracker – Snooker Database. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Centuries". Pro Snooker Blog. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Maximum Breaks". Chris Turner. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  6. ↑ "WWW Snooker Coverage". Archived from the original on 22 June 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  7. 1 2 "Robert Milkins 2011/2012". Snooker.org. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  8. ↑ "World Open: Scots stars John Higgins and Graeme Dott crash out of last eight in shock defeats". Daily Record. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  9. ↑ "Mark Allen to face Stephen Lee in World Open final". BBC Sport. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Robert Milkins 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  11. ↑ "Milkins ends Trump's Wuxi Classic hopes". Eurosport. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  12. ↑ Dawes, Mike (15 February 2013). "Ding storms into the semis after a comfortable win over Milkins". London: Daily Mail. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "Order of Merit 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  14. ↑ "Asian Order of Merit 2012/2013". Snooker.org. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  15. ↑ "Betfair World Championship". Snooker.org. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  16. 1 2 3 "World Snooker Championship 2013: Milkins beats Robertson". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  17. ↑ "Walden Holds Nerve To Reach Last Eight". World Snooker. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  18. ↑ "Official World Snooker Ranking List for the 2013/2014 Season" (PDF). World Snooker. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  19. 1 2 3 "Robert Milkins 2013/2014". Snooker.org. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "Robertson To Meet Milkins in Semis". World Snooker. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  21. ↑ "Robertson into Wuxi Final". World Snooker. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  22. ↑ "Fu into Aussie Final". World Snooker. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  23. ↑ "UK Snooker: Ronnie O’Sullivan fires past Robert Milkins". The Press. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  24. ↑ "Ronnie O'Sullivan faces Milkins". Sporting Life. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  25. ↑ "Rocket Flies Past Milkins". World Snooker. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  26. ↑ "Xiao / Wasley Earn Crucible Debuts". World Snooker. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  27. ↑ "World Snooker Rankings After the 2014 World Championship" (PDF). World Snooker. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  28. ↑ "Robert Milkins beats John Higgins in Australian Goldfields Open". Gloucester Citizen. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  29. ↑ "Robertson To Face Davis in Bendigo". World Snooker. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  30. 1 2 3 "Robert Milkins 2014/2015". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  31. ↑ "Gloucester's Robert Milkins aiming to break semi-final hoodoo in International Championships snooker". Gloucester Citizen. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  32. ↑ "International Championship: Ricky Walden beats Robert Milkins in semis". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  33. ↑ "Murphy Wins in Mulheim – And Makes 147". worldsnooker.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  34. ↑ "Masters: Neil Robertson reaches quarter-finals after battling past Robert Milkins". Sky Sports. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  35. ↑ "Milkins Still Chasing Crucible Spot". World Snooker. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  36. ↑ "Selby To Meet Maflin in Semis". World Snooker. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  37. ↑ "Gloucester snooker star Robert Milkins goes out of world championship to a charge from John Higgins". Western Daily Press. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  38. ↑ "World Rankings After 2015 World Championship". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  39. ↑ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/4900374/Rob-Milkins-is-back-at-snookers-after-eight-years.html
  40. ↑ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.

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