Milkins did not drop a frame in seeing off Michael Leslie and Marcus Campbell at the UK Championship, but was then whitewashed 6–0 by Graeme Dott in the last 32. In the first round of the Masters he was beaten 6–4 by Robertson having been 4–3 ahead. Milkins won through to the quarter-finals of the Indian Open and lost 4–1 to Mark Williams. After he overcame Michael White 5–1 at the China Open, Milkins knew that he had to reach the final to enter the top 16 in the world rankings and avoid playing three qualifying matches for the World Championship. In his fourth ranking event quarter-final of the season, Milkins led Mark Selby on four occasions but each time he levelled and Selby won the deciding frame 71–0. Milkins did win three matches to qualify for the World Championship and lost 10–5 to John Higgins in the opening round. Milkins finished the season inside the top 16 for the first time in his career as he was 16th.