🔗 Share this article 'He was a joy': Remembering the sport's lost great a score of years on. Paul Hunter won The Masters three times during a compact but stellar career. All the young snooker player truly desired to do was compete on the baize. A competitive passion, sparked at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his family's living room table in Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him win half a dozen major wins in six years. Now marks two decades since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday. But notwithstanding the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the game he loved, his enduring mark on the sport and those who were close to him persist as powerful today. 'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession "It was impossible to foresee in a billion years Paul would become a professional snooker player," his mother says. "However he just loved it." Hunter's father recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a youth. "He was relentless," he says. "He would play every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the toddler years. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from home play with remarkable ease. His mercurial talent would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Quick Success: A Star is Born With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his easy charm, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple accounts from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year. When he died in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country. The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly. "The idea was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children internationally. "It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Always Remembered: Two Decades On Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "close to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of." Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
Paul Hunter won The Masters three times during a compact but stellar career. All the young snooker player truly desired to do was compete on the baize. A competitive passion, sparked at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his family's living room table in Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him win half a dozen major wins in six years. Now marks two decades since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday. But notwithstanding the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the game he loved, his enduring mark on the sport and those who were close to him persist as powerful today. 'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession "It was impossible to foresee in a billion years Paul would become a professional snooker player," his mother says. "However he just loved it." Hunter's father recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a youth. "He was relentless," he says. "He would play every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the toddler years. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from home play with remarkable ease. His mercurial talent would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Quick Success: A Star is Born With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his easy charm, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple accounts from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year. When he died in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country. The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly. "The idea was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children internationally. "It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Always Remembered: Two Decades On Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "close to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of." Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.