Milkins Delighted with Pro Challenge Win

Robert Milkins has described Pro Challenge Three as the best tournament he has won after beating Joe Jogia 5-3 in the final in Leicester on Wednesday.

The World Number 55 from Gloucester played some great snooker in the final compiling two centuries and a further two breaks over 50. This form was enough to win him the trophy and the £5,000 first prize over local favourite Joe Jogia.

Both players had surprise victories in the semi-finals with Jogia beating a very in-form Ricky Walden 5-0 and Milkins just edging out rising star Judd Trump 5-4.

Milkins feels he is re-igniting the form that saw him reach the UK Championship Quarter-finals in 2002 after a struggle that has seen him nearly drop off the tour.

On WorldSnooker.com he said, “I was a fool to myself for a while because I didn’t work hard enough, but everything is turning around now,” said 33-year-old Milkins after becoming the third winner in World Snooker’s new Pro Challenge Series, after Stephen Maguire and Ken Doherty won the first two tournaments. “I’ve been practising hard for the last two years now. At first I didn’t get the results, but since I got to the quarter-finals of the Bahrain Championship last year it’s been going well.”

Milkins, who also reached the last eight of the recent Grand Prix by beating top 16 players Ali Carter and Mark King, added: “Considering the field, this is definitely the best tournament I’ve won. These Pro Challenge Events are brilliant, they are great match practice and give extra chances to the players to earn money.”

“I played really well - I had scraped through my previous three matches so I was surprised at the standard I produced in the final,” added Milkins. “This gives me a lot of confidence going into the Pukka Pies UK Championship qualifiers. A couple of years ago the other players must have been thinking I was a plum draw, but now hopefully they will see my results and it will put some fear into them.”

Jogia, a former English Open champion, said: “I just missed one or two balls today but I’ve enjoyed the whole week and I played well. I think these Pro Challenge Events are fantastic and a lot of the players I’ve spoken to agree with that.”

The next event of the seven Pro Challenge Series tournament runs from the 4th-6th January, 2010.