Gibraltar Open 2022. Robert Milkins wins a ranking title for the first time

Milkins, 46, turned professional back in 1995 and has previously appeared in six semi-finals of ranking events, but has never played in a final to this day. This is undoubtedly the best moment of his career.

He became the oldest ranking tournament winner since Doug Mountjoy, who won the 1988 UK Championship when he was no longer young.

And his success is all the more remarkable given that until this week he has won only three matches in the entire season. He won the biggest prize money of his career – £50,000.

It is also curious that Milkins’ triumph comes just three weeks after one of the worst moments of his snooker career: a drunken escapade during the opening ceremony of the Nirvana Turkish Masters tournament, for which he faces WPBSA disciplinary action. According to WST, the incident may have been related to the pressure Milkins felt to improve his fitness and earn money for his family, including his three children.

Now Milkins will make his debut in the Champion of Champions this fall and will move up in the world rankings from 43rd to 28th.

As for the £150,000 best player bonus in the BetVictor Series, which also includes the Gibraltar Open, it went to John Higgins. The 46-year-old Scot received this bonus for leading the BetVictor Series after eight events in the series.

Wilson could have passed Higgins for that bonus and a place in the Cazoo Tour Championship by winning the Gibraltar Open final, but will now miss out on the eight-star elite tournament.

Milkins took the lead at the start of the match, led 3-0, but Wilson was able to avoid a dry defeat, took first one frame with a series of 65 points, and then another, but failed to bring it to the decisive one, as a result, Robert Milkins won with a score 4:2.

“I’ve been working on this my whole career, it’s a dream come true. It’s hard to keep training and not get rewarded, but this moment is worth it. To be honest, I didn’t think I would ever see this day. Things haven’t been going very well for me lately, and I couldn’t foresee it, – the winner Milkins admitted.

He added that in his career “there were times when he felt like he had a chance to win tournaments, but lately he didn’t even expect to win even a match.”

“The standard is so good now that it might be difficult for me to stay on tour next season. I’m glad it happened right now because I definitely don’t have much time left! It changed a lot for me. I love Gibraltar, it’s one of the best places to have fun. Thank you to the fans because they were great,” Milkins added.

Robert added that he “would like to dedicate this trophy to the people around me that I’ve lost and can’t see me here today – my mom and dad and other people.”