Gloucestershire snooker stars Rob Milkins and Jack Lisowski aiming for a place at the Crucible Theatre as World Championship qualifiers get under way..

Gloucestershire cueists Jack Lisowski and Rob Milkins are set to chase qualification for snooker’s premier tournament when the World Championship qualifiers begin next week at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

Milkins, a two-time ranking title winner from Gloucester, faces a particularly high-stakes campaign. The 50-year-old must secure at least one victory to safeguard his professional tour status. Currently ranked 61st in the world, he is projected to drop to 68th in the provisional end-of-season standings, with only the top 64 players assured of retaining their two-year tour cards.

There remains, however, an alternative pathway. The four highest-performing players across the 2025–26 season without tour cards will also qualify for tour membership. Milkins is presently fifth in that race, having earned £33,800 just £200 shy of fourth-placed Allan Taylor. To bridge that gap, he must outperform Taylor during the qualifiers while also relying on those below him failing to mount significant runs.

Milkins, who captured his maiden ranking title at the Gibraltar Open in 2022 and followed it with victory at the Welsh Open in 2023, needs three consecutive wins to reach the televised stages at Sheffield’s iconic Crucible Theatre, where the tournament proper gets underway on April 18.