| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 18–26 October 1986 |
| Venue | Hexagon Theatre |
| City | Reading |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | WPBSA |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £275,000 [1] |
| Winner's share | £55,000 [1] |
| Highest break |  Jimmy White (ENG) (138) [2] |
| Final | |
| Champion | Jimmy White (ENG) |
| Runner-up | Rex Williams (ENG) |
| Score | 10–6 |
← 1985 1987 → | |
The 1986 Rothmans Grand Prix was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 18 to 26 October 1986 at the Hexagon Theatre in Reading. [3] [4]
Contents
Rex Williams made his first (and only) major final in a professional snooker tournament after being a professional since 1951. He was 53 years and 98 days old, making him the oldest player in a ranking final. He had beaten Jim Bear, Mark Wildman, Alex Higgins, Steve Davis and Neal Foulds before facing Jimmy White in the final. [5] During that match Williams took a 5–2 lead which he had made a break of 125 in the 7th frame and 6–4 before White took the last 6 frames to win 10–6. [6] [7]
Rounds 1 to 3 were played at Redwood Lodge, Bristol, from 17 to 24 September 1986. [8]
Terry Griffiths set a Grand Prix record with a break of 136 against Steve Davis in the fourth round. [9] This was superseded by a break of 137 by Willie Thorne against Neal Foulds in round five. [9] White then made a break of 138 against Silvino Francisco in their semi-final. [9] [10] [6]
The quarter-final between White and 17-year-old Stephen Hendry went to the deciding frame . [9] Hendry missed potting the blue ball in that frame and White went on to win. [9] Williams nearly inflicted the first whitewash of Davis's professional career, taking a four-frame lead but then not potting a black ball that would have meant a 5–0 win. [10] After Davis had won the fifth frame, Williams completed his victory with a break of 74 in frame 6. [10]
In the semi-finals, White defeated Francisco 9–6, and Williams eliminated Foulds 9–8. [11]
Williams led 5–3 at the end of the first session of the final. [9] White took the first frame of the second session, then Williams won the next frame to lead 6–4. [9] White then added six consecutive frames to take the title. [6] [7]
