| Tournament Name: | Rothmans Grand Prix |
| Venue: | Hexagon Theatre |
| Location: | Reading |
| Country: | England |
| Organisation: | WPBSA |
| Format: | Ranking event |
| Total Prize Fund: | £275,000[1] |
| Winners Share: | £55,000 |
| Highest Break: | (138)[2] |
| Score: | 10–6 |
| Previous: | 1985 |
| Next: | 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]
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 his first Grand Prix title by 10–6. White had beaten 17-year-old Stephen Hendry in the quarter-finals and Silvino Francisco in the semi-final.
| Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: John Williams Hexagon Theatre, Reading, England, 26 October 1986. | |||
| Jimmy White | 10–6 | Rex Williams | |
| 11–72 (53), 57–47, 130–3 (101), 54–73, 44–84, 44–74, 0–126 (125), 90–4 (73), 83–24, 0–76, 72–16, 79–39 (68), 79–23, 63–61, 88–8 (51), 79–8 (72) | |||
| 101 | Highest break | 125 | |
| 1 | Century breaks | 1 | |
| 5 | 50+ breaks | 2 | |