Why 'The Milkman' Robert Milkins faces huge test of bottle in do-or-die quest in World Snooker Championship qualifying
Updated 09/04/2026 at 09:39 GMT+1
React to this story
Robert Milkins earned a huge £230,000 cheque for winning the 2023 Welsh Open in Llandudno with a 9-7 victory against Shaun Murphy, but his future on the main professional circuit could come down to only £200 in World Championship qualifying prize money in Sheffield. 'The Milkman' needs to defeat Patrick Whelan to avoid losing his tour card, with rival Allan Taylor just ahead of him.
Watch shocking moment Milkins throws cue on floor in anger after miss
Video credit: TNT Sports
Robert Milkins celebrated the biggest and most lucrative victory of his 31-year professional career when he lifted the 2023 Welsh Open with a 9-7 win over Shaun Murphy.
The free-wheeling Gloucester potter banked a whopping prize of £230,000 for his victory in Llandudno, including a £150,000 bonus from tournament sponsors, on his way to achieving a career high ranking of 12.
But 'The Milkman' will face another huge test of his bottle on Thursday with his place among the game's elite in serious jeopardy as he faces Patrick Whelan in the second round of World Championship qualifiers in Sheffield.
World No. 61 Milkins is set to slide out of the top 64 safety net unless he can enjoy an extended run at the sport's biggest event, with his provisional end-of-season ranking a lowly 68.
But there are other routes to survival on the main World Snooker Tour.
Milkins has been handed a lifeline via the one-year points list for 2025/26, with the top four players without tour cards earning a fresh two-year card on the main circuit.
At the moment, Alfie Burden, Artemijs Zizins, Julien Leclercq and Allan Taylor occupy those places. Taylor is £200 ahead of Milkins, who turned professional back in 1995.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2024/04/24/3954636-80306433-2560-1440.jpg)
'Look at the emotion' - Milkins battles to win over Pang after epic
Video credit: TNT Sports
Milkins meets Whelan, who defeated 1997 world champion Ken Doherty 10-5 in the first round at the English Institute of Sport, at 10:00 and 19:00 on Thursday, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
A defeat will almost certainly consign him to a trip to qualifying at Q School in Leicester next month if he wants to earn a fresh two-year tour card.
But victory would carry him into the third qualifying round, earning at least £10,000, before Taylor faces Steven Hallworth on Friday at 10:00 and 19:00, heaping similar pressure on to his own match.
There is also a chasing pack hoping to reach the top four, with Sanderson Lam, who trails Polish prodigy Michal Szubarczyk 5-3 before they play to a finish on Thursday afternoon, only £600 behind Milkins in a frantic scramble to avoid Q School.
- Is O'Sullivan set to face a major minefield of former winners at Crucible?
- How to watch the World Snooker Championship live on TNT Sports and HBO Max
- Szubarczyk relishing 'expectation' after becoming youngest ever World Championship match winner
Milkins has been here before, battling to retain his professional tour card in 2022, having won only three matches all season before carrying off the Gibraltar Open and Welsh Open titles.
He enjoyed a 5-2 win over world champion Zhao Xintong in reaching the last 16 of the Xi'an Grand Prix in October, his best run of a poor season so far that also saw him defeat Whelan 4-2 in the second round of the Northern Ireland Open.
At the age of 50, Milkins, with over 200 competitive centuries and three maximums behind him, intends to compete at the World Seniors Championship at the Crucible next month.
But he would like to make the trip without the obvious strain of Q School looming on the horizon.
Qualifying for the 2026 World Championship takes place between April 6-15, and is live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement