Robert Milkins Admits He 'Disrespected the Game' After Losing Tour Card Following 31 Years as a Professional

A Brutal Self-Assessment After Three Decades on Tour

Robert Milkins has delivered one of the most candid reflections heard from a professional snooker player in recent memory, openly admitting he was "lazy" and that he "disrespected the game" in the period that ultimately cost him his place on the World Snooker Tour. Speaking on Pluto TV at the Snooker 900 event, the Gloucester-born potter held nothing back in explaining how a career spanning the best part of 31 years came to an end at the close of the 2025/26 season.

Milkins' fall from the tour was particularly stark given the heights he had reached just a few years prior. As recently as 2023, he had equalled his career-high world ranking of 12 — a figure that placed him firmly among the sport's elite. Yet what followed was a rapid and prolonged deterioration in form that saw him finish last season outside the world's top 64, triggering the need to attend Q School in a bid to retain his professional status. Back-to-back 4-3 defeats against Duane Jones and Gong Chenzhi ended that attempt, leaving Milkins facing at least one year away from the main tour.

'I Just Lost My Head Completely'

In his Pluto TV appearance, Milkins did not attempt to deflect blame or offer external explanations for his decline. "Not very good," he said bluntly when asked how he had coped with losing his tour card, before adding: "But it's all my fault anyway." He went on to describe a period in which his relationship with the sport deteriorated significantly. "I disrespected the game. I've done it before, and I just fell out of love with the game," he admitted. "I'll get it back, because I've done it before. But I'm one of these players who, when I get myself up there, I don't push on. I'm just too lazy, you know?"

Milkins also reflected on his experience at Q School itself, acknowledging that the format presented a psychological challenge he was ill-equipped to meet at the time. "I couldn't really handle Q School this year. It was something different. Although I did play well in it, I just didn't really handle it when it came down to the crunch," he said. The two 4-3 scorelines suggest tight matches in which fine margins proved decisive — the kind of pressure situations that demand mental composure above all else.

The Highs That Make the Fall All the More Striking

Context makes Milkins' situation all the more poignant. Between 2022 and 2023, he appeared to have undergone a genuine and lasting transformation as a competitor. He claimed his first ranking event title at the Gibraltar Open in 2022, a breakthrough that he credited in part to counselling, which he said had helped him achieve greater consistency. The following year brought an even more significant achievement: victory at the Welsh Open, a title that earned him the European Series bonus prize of £150,000 and represented the crowning moment of his professional career.

Those two ranking titles — the Gibraltar Open and the Welsh Open — placed Milkins among a relatively small group of players who have claimed multiple ranking event victories. According to data available via CueTracker, his Welsh Open win in 2023 was particularly notable given the calibre of the field and the pressure of a final, which he navigated successfully. Yet, speaking recently, Milkins acknowledged that those memories have become distant. "That's one thing that nobody can take away from me. You know, I showed my bottle there. But it seems so long ago now," he said. "The things that have happened recently have sort of… well, not belittled it… but I've sort of forgotten about it."

What Comes Next: The Q Tour and a Vow to Rediscover His Best

Despite the raw honesty of his assessment, Milkins was clear that he has no intention of walking away from snooker altogether. His focus now turns to the Q Tour — the secondary circuit that provides a competitive pathway for players outside the top 64 and those without main tour status — where he has pledged to give his best in pursuit of a return to professional competition. "I'm going to really concentrate now for the Q Tour. I'm going to give that my best, and I will start playing well," he said.

Whether Milkins can rediscover the form and, crucially, the mental resolve that delivered those ranking titles remains to be seen. He is, by his own admission, someone who has previously fallen away after reaching the upper tier of the world rankings — a pattern he is acutely aware of. At 48 years of age, the window for a sustained return may be narrowing, but snooker has never been a sport that adheres neatly to expectations. His honesty, at the very least, suggests a man who understands exactly where things went wrong.