World Snooker Championship star reveals he once turned up to an event DRUNK and was £30k in debt

Snooker ace Robert Milkins has candidly shared his journey from battling alcohol issues and a £30,000 debt to seeking triumph at the World Snooker Championship.

The 48-year-old potter, who recently became the oldest first-time winner of a ranking event with his victory at the 2022 Gibraltar Open, is set to face Pang Junxu in Sheffield's prestigious Crucible Theatre. His career, which took off in 1995, includes a notable win against Neil Robertson in the 2013 World Snooker Championship. However, Milkins had to confront personal challenges, including showing up intoxicated at a tournament in Turkey.

Following his past win, Milkins opened up about his struggles, saying: "It doesn't get much better than this. I was £30,000 in debt, going to the pub every day and I was just going down in the gutter a few years ago, so to be here now is amazing. I lost my mum, my dad. And I got divorced. It blew me apart. I didn't get any help at the time."

However, Milkins, nearly a decade later, seemed to derail just before his Gibraltar Open victory. A few weeks after his boozy birthday celebrations in March 2022, he arrived at the first-ever Turkish Masters under the influence of alcohol.

This led to him clashing with guests and even trying to punch Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. His night ended with him getting his stomach pumped in hospital.

He later issued an apology, stating: "I can only apologise to any guests I offended. I wouldn't have known who it was. My behaviour was totally out of order. I will take whatever punishment I receive. It won't be happening again. I only play to try and support my kids and I have let them down as well, which is the worst bit."

The incident in Turkey served as a wake-up call for Milkins, leading him to seek therapeutic help. Reflecting on the situation, he later said: "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."

Milkins opened up about his mental health struggles and how the World Snooker Tour helped him get back on track. He said: "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. 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."

He continued by reflecting on his career challenges: "It was hard to take, earlier in my career, seeing people that maybe didn't have the ability I have winning a lot more than me but this game is about a lot more than ability. Most of it is about your mental state and your head, and how good you are at dealing with setbacks. And I've not been good at that, and my self-belief wasn't great. That improved a lot after Gibraltar."

Milkins also recounted his triumph at the Welsh Open last year, where he defeated Shaun Murphy in the final. Currently seeded 16th at this year's World Snooker Championship, he aims to make it past the first round for the fifth time in his career.

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