In the early morning of March 27, the Snooker Gibraltar Open came to a successful end, and Milkins, a 46-year-old veteran who turned professional in 1995, defeated Karen Wilson 4-2 in the final to win the first ranking tournament of his career, winning £50,000 and qualifying for the championship, while becoming the second largest winner of the ranking tournament after Doug Montejoux, while Karen Wilson missed the fourth title of the ranking tournament. With the addition of Milkins, the champions league line-up for next season has now been identified with 10 seats, and the specific list is as follows:
Trump, Zhao Xintong, N. Robertson, O'Sullivan, Higgins, Fan Zhengyi, Brechel, Perry, Milkins, Wafi
Among them, Zhao Xintong and Fan Zhengyi are from China, N. Robertson is from Australia, Brechel is from Belgium, and Wafi is from Iran, in other words, 50% of the current lineup players are from outside the British Isles, and the other two data are also worth scrutinizing.
First, the "post-70s" account for nearly half.
Although Zhao Xintong, Bretchell and Wafi are "post-90s", Fan Zhengyi is "post-00s", and young forces are gradually forming an impact, but "post-70s" actually occupy 4 seats, and in the remaining lineup, in addition to Trump and N. Robertson, O'Sullivan, Higgins, Perry and Mirkkins are all "post-70s", and Perry and Milkins' entry is relatively unexpected.
Second, nearly half of the "first-time contestants" were contestants.
In the above lineup, in addition to several top players, Brechel and Perry have entered the top 16 ranks, Perry has won the championship qualification with the 2015 PTC Finals, Brechel has won the crown qualification with the 2017 Championship, and Zhao Xintong, Fan Zhengyi, Wafi and Milkins have all won their first career titles this season, which means that they will all participate in the championship for the "first time".
In addition, Selby, K. Wilson, M. Williams, Murphy, Yan Bingtao, Ding Junhui and other players have not been shortlisted.