The 1986 Tennents UK Championship

UK Championship (snooker)

The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is the second biggest ranking tournament after the World Championship and is one of the Triple Crown events.-History:...

took place at the Guildhall, Preston

City of Preston, Lancashire

The City of Preston is a city and non-metropolitan district in Lancashire, England. It is located on the north bank of the River Ribble, and was granted city status in 2002, becoming England's 50th city in the 50th year of Queen Elizabeth II's reign...

 in November and TV stages shown on BBC TV took place between 22 and 30 November 1986.

Scottish brewers Tennents took over as the sponsors of the UK Championship after Coral withdrew their sponsorship after 8 years. The event was also best known in 1986 for Alex Higgins

Alex Higgins

Alexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins , also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play...

 along with John Cochrane head-butting an official. Higgins later got fined £12,000 and banned for the next 5 snooker competitions.

In the final, Steve Davis

Steve Davis

Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...

 won beating Neal Foulds who had already won the BCE International 2 months earlier 16–7, winning £60,000 and his triumph was a personal landmark because it took his career winnings past the £1 million barrier. The highest break of the tournament was 144 made by Jimmy White

Jimmy White

James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.White's extensive list of achievements,...

.

Main draw

Round of 32 Best of 17 frames
 Kingdom of England Steve Davis

Steve Davis

Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...

  9–6 Eddie Charlton

Eddie Charlton

Edward Francis Charlton AM was an Australian professional snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title...

  Australia

 Kingdom of England Dean Reynolds

Dean Reynolds

Dean Reynolds is an English professional snooker player.-Career:Before turning professional, Reynolds won the first-ever Junior Pot Black in 1981, beating Dene O'Kane, another future professional, with a 2- aggregate score of 151–79.He twice reached a ranking tournament final, but lost both times,...

  9–8 Silvino Francisco

Silvino Francisco

Silvino Francisco is a retired South African professional snooker player.Francisco comes from a snooker-playing family. His brother Mannie and nephew Peter both played at a high level, Mannie having been a runner-up in the World Amateur Billiards Championship on several occasions, and Peter having...

  South Africa

 Malta Tony Drago

Tony Drago

Tony Drago is a professional snooker and pool player from Malta. He won the 2003 World Pool Masters Tournament beating Hsia Hui-kai 8–6 and also reached the quarter finals of the World Snooker Championship...

  9–6 John Virgo

John Virgo

John Virgo is an English former professional snooker player and more recently a snooker commentator and TV personality.- Career :...

  Kingdom of England

 Kingdom of England Willie Thorne

Willie Thorne

William Joseph "Willie" Thorne , is a former English professional snooker player and now a sports commentator.Thorne became national under-16 champion at both snooker and English billiards in 1970...

  9–1 Robbie Grace  South Africa

 Northern Ireland Alex Higgins

Alex Higgins

Alexander Gordon "Alex" Higgins , also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and twice runner-up. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane because of his speed of play...

  9–6 Dave Martin  Kingdom of England

 Kingdom of England Mike Hallett

Mike Hallett

Mike Hallett is an English professional snooker player and television sports commentator.-Career:Hallett was a consistently solid snooker player, but never achieved the very top ranks...

  9–4 Tony Meo  Kingdom of England

 Republic of Ireland Eugene Hughes

Eugene Hughes

Eugene Hughes is an Irish snooker player. He reached his highest professional World Ranking of 20 in 1986. In 1985 and the following years 1986 & 1987 he won his only professional titles, as a member of the successful all-Irish team in the World Team Championships, alongside Alex Higgins and...

  9–5 Ray Reardon

Ray Reardon

Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Welsh snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Championships in that decade...

  Wales

 Wales Wayne Jones

Wayne Jones (snooker player)

Wayne Jones is a former Welsh professional snooker player. Despite never breaking into the top 16, he reached the last 16 and quarter-finals of many ranking events. His most notable run was to the final of the Mercantile Credit Classic in 1989 with victories over the likes of Jimmy White, where he...

  9–2 Dennis Taylor

Dennis Taylor

Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Winner of two ranking events, he is best known for winning the 1985 World Championship, beating World number one Steve Davis on the final black in one of the sport's most memorable finals...

  Northern Ireland

 Canada Cliff Thorburn

Cliff Thorburn

Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn CM, known as Cliff Thorburn is a retired professional Canadian snooker player...

  9–4 David Taylor

David Taylor (snooker player)

David Taylor is a semi-retired English professional snooker player. He won the World and English Amateur Championships in 1968, before the success of those wins encouraged him to turn professional. Although an excellent player, Taylor never quite reached the very top of the game...

  Kingdom of England

 Kingdom of England John Spencer

John Spencer (snooker player)

John Spencer was an English professional snooker player who won the World Professional title at his first attempt, was the first winner at the Crucible Theatre, was the inaugural winner of the Masters and Irish Masters and was the first player to make a 147 break in competition...

  9–4 Kirk Stevens

Kirk Stevens

Kirk Stevens is a Canadian professional snooker player.Stevens started playing young, achieving his first aged just 12. He turned professional aged 20, and reached the semi-finals of the World Championship aged 21...

  Canada

 Kingdom of England Neal Foulds

Neal Foulds

Neal Foulds is a former English professional snooker player and is now a commentator on the sport.-Career:Foulds quickly climbed the rankings after turning professional in 1983, reaching no. 3 within four years. He won his first ranking tournament in 1986, the BCE International, beating Cliff...

  9–3 Jim Wych

Jim Wych

Jim Wych is a sports announcer and former Canadian professional snooker and pocket billiards player. He reached the quarter-final of the Embassy World Professional Snooker Championship in his debut year of 1980, a "first" for any overseas player and duplicated this feat again in 1992...

  Canada

 Kingdom of England Jimmy White

Jimmy White

James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.White's extensive list of achievements,...

  9–5 Peter Francisco  South Africa

 Kingdom of England Tony Knowles

Tony Knowles (snooker player)

Anthony Knowles is an English professional snooker player. He was a three times semi-finalist in the World Professional Snooker Championship in the 1980s.-Career:...

  9–2 Tony Jones  Kingdom of England

 Wales Terry Griffiths

Terry Griffiths

Terrence "Terry" Griffiths OBE is a retired Welsh snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. He won the World Championship in 1979 at the first attempt, and reached the 1988 final. He also won the Masters in 1980 and the UK Championship in 1982, making him one of seven players to have...

  9–0 Dene O'Kane

Dene O'Kane

Dene O'Kane is a professional snooker player from New Zealand. He reached the quarter-finals of the World Championships in 1987 and 1992. He made his World Championship debut in 1985, losing to David Taylor in the first round. He appeared in the world championships six times, but never in...

  New Zealand

 Kingdom of England Steve Longworth  9–1 Doug Mountjoy

Doug Mountjoy

Doug Mountjoy is a retired Welsh snooker player. Although he only won two ranking titles, he did so in successive tournaments in 1988/1989 – and while in his mid 40s. In more recent years he was the coach to the United Arab Emirates snooker association between 1997 and 1999.- Early life...

  Wales

 Kingdom of England John Parrott

John Parrott

John Parrott MBE is an English professional snooker player and TV personality.He won the World Snooker Championship in 1991, defeating Jimmy White in the final. Two years earlier he had lost 3–18 to Steve Davis, the heaviest final defeat in modern times...

  9–1 Joe Johnson

Joe Johnson (snooker player)

Joe Johnson is an English former professional snooker player. He is best known as the surprise winner of the 1986 World Championship.- Career :...

  Kingdom of England