Weeks after hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons at the Turkish Masters, 46-year-old Robert Milkins won the first ranking title of his career in the Gibraltar Open.
Milkins faces potential disciplinary action from the World Snooker Tour after arriving drunk to the opening ceremony of the inaugural Turkish Masters, but put that behind him to finally win at the highest level.
The 46-year-old held firm to beat Kyren Wilson 4-2 in a unique event which is played over just three days of best-of-seven snooker, having earlier seen off Lyu Haotian, Ben Hancorn and Jak Jones, all by the same scoreline.
Priced up around the 200/1 mark pre-tournament and still 2/1 ahead of the final, Milkins sailed into a 3-0 lead but stalled with the winning line so close, as Wilson looked set to take the match the distance.
But Milkins held firm, taking his chances in frame six to seal the biggest win of his career and a cheque for £50,000.
The Milkman delivers 🥛#BVEuroSeries pic.twitter.com/pPMviwKlxl
— World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) March 26, 2022
"It's been a long time coming, I've worked all my career for this," said Milkins. "I can't believe it, really. It's a dream come true.
"Kyren knows what it's like. It's hard to keep going, practicing, practicing, practicing. Moments like this... it's all worth while.
Asked if he saw this performance coming, an emotional Milkins admitted: "To be honest, no I didn't.
"Things haven't been going well for me recently and I just couldn't see it coming. I just didn't even see a match coming - I've only won three all year.
"I don't know where it's come from, but I'm glad it's here. I certainly haven't got much time left!"
