Watch Robert Milkins emulate Peter Ebdon with wild reaction after 'emotional' World Snooker Championship victory
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Updated 24/04/2024 at 10:50 GMT
Robert Milkins scrambled into the World Championship last 16 with a dramatic 10-9 victory over Pang Junxu on Tuesday night. 'The Milkman' insisted he was not being "disrespectful" to Pang after roaring "Come on!" in sealing the win, but reflected: "It's not nice, and I shouldn't really do it." Stream top snooker action, including the World Snooker Championship, live on Eurosport and discovery+
'Look at the emotion' - Milkins battles to win over Pang after epic
When the moment of victory finally arrived for Robert Milkins at the Crucible Theatre on Tuesday night, nobody could blame him for letting off some steam.
The world No. 16 toiled badly for consistency during a taut 10-9 win over young Chinese qualifier Pang Junxu that saw both men squander numerous chances before 'The Milkman' scrambled over the winning line by potting the final green after earlier contributing a battling 49 to gain a crucial advantage.
In a see-saw contest that had a packed Sheffield crowd gripped with tension, Pang squandered two opportunities to seal the match as he ran out of position on a run of 23 in the decider before later missing a delicate cut on a green to right centre bag when poised to progress.
The victory was worth £30,000 to the former Welsh Open winner Milkins, who signified the importance of the moment by roaring 'Come on!' as much as in relief as in delight as he secured a last-16 meeting with defending champion Luca Brecel's conqueror David Gilbert on Thursday and Friday.
It was a memorable celebration by the Gloucester potter, who invoked the spirit of a tearful Peter Ebdon after his marathon 13-12 win over Stephen Lee in the last 16 in 2001 prompted animated scenes a year before Ebdon lifted the title.
"The way he reacted, anyone would have thought he had won the title or was going to pick up the FA Cup," said Lee after Ebdon bellowed 'Come on'! several times at a stunned Crucible.
"I don't mean to do that," said Milkins, who produced breaks of 83, 91, 58 and 76 on his way to claiming the final two frames against Pang from 9-8 behind. "I've not done that in a nasty way, but to come through a game like that when you've pretty much played your worse snooker and he did as well, it's not a disrespectful thing.
"He would tell you the same. We both played really poor, but to come through a game like that when you don't think you go past that level is emotional, to say to the least.
"I battled myself all through the game. Until I went 9-8 behind was the only time I felt okay. I'll look back tomorrow and probably think that was more enjoyable than winning 10-1 or 10-2."
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Milkins fouls by jumping over black ball
"I was 3-0 down in that match, and I couldn't see myself winning a frame, it was that bad," added Milkins on World Snooker Tour during a wildly undulating contest that saw him thump his cue into the ground in frustration in losing the 17th frame after butchering an attempt at a pink along the top cushion.
"Looking back at it now, maybe I shouldn't have done it. He's just lost a game, and it's not very nice for him. If it was the other way around, it probably wouldn't bother me, but it's not nice and I shouldn't really do it.
"It's just an instinctive thing, not on purpose. It was nip-and-tuck really all night. I don't think there was more than one frame between us all night."
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