Robert Milkins opens up on drunken night of shame that changed life and snooker career
Snooker star Robert Milkins has admitted his drunken night of shame in Turkey helped turn his life and career around.
The world No.27 won only his second ranking title on Sunday by beating Shaun Murphy 9-7 in Llandudno, Wales. It earned the 46-year-old a total jackpot of almost £300,000 in what was arguably the greatest night of his career.
But despite now enjoying the lofty heights of being placed in the top 16, things were very different for Milkins just a year ago, when he was involved in a shameful birthday bender at the inaugural Turkish Masters in Antalya.
READ MORE: Snooker star fined £7,000 for ‘extreme drunken behaviour’ wins Welsh Open title
The Milkman’s antics saw him reach rock bottom as he had altercations with guests, split his chin open by falling and threw a punch at WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson before needing his stomach pumped.
Yet Milkins, who was grieving the death of his sister at the time, turned his life and career around by seeking help through Sporting Chance – a mental health charity founded by Arsenal legend Tony Adams.
He explained: “What happened in Turkey was probably the best thing that has ever happened to me – in a nasty way. I am not proud of what I did, but looking back at it, it was the best thing. I went and got counselling straight away, she was brilliant.
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(Image: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)
“World Snooker Tour sorted it out for me after what I done in Turkey. I had a few issues, I told them about them and I wasn’t happy with a few things in life.
“And they got me on the Tony Adams charity, Sporting Chance. I met up with a lady in Gloucester, had six sessions in total and she said if I had more problems to go back.
“But I haven’t, I have been okay. There were terrible moments, but they are in the past now and I am looking to the future.
(Image: Anna Gowthorpe/PA Wire)
“And after one session I won the Gibraltar Open. I opened up to someone, telling the lady things that nobody else knows, getting everything off my chest. And it was a relief.
“I went to Gibraltar feeling a different person, and since then I have not looked back. It has been a long journey, no question. And after this win I am drained but happy.”
The father of three had been ordered to pay a £7,000 fine for his behaviour, an amount he struggled to muster up after pocketing just £10,000 that season. But that all changed when he became the oldest first time winner of a ranking event at the 2022 Gibraltar Open.
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