🔗 Share this article 'He was a joy': Honoring snooker's departed star 20 years on. Paul Hunter won The Masters thrice during a brief yet brilliant career. Everything the young snooker player always wished to do was compete on the baize. A love for the game, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him win six significant titles in six years. This year marks two decades since the adored Hunter died from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday. But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the game and those who were close to him persist as vibrant now. 'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession "It was impossible to foresee in a million years the boy would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum recalls. "However he just loved it." Alan Hunter remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he notes. "He competed every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the very young age. After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from home play with remarkable ease. His mercurial talent would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory 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 proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party". With his easy charm, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year. When he died in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain." An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back Hunter's true impact would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly. "The idea was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one official said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of." Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor. But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.
Paul Hunter won The Masters thrice during a brief yet brilliant career. Everything the young snooker player always wished to do was compete on the baize. A love for the game, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him win six significant titles in six years. This year marks two decades since the adored Hunter died from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday. But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the game and those who were close to him persist as vibrant now. 'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession "It was impossible to foresee in a million years the boy would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum recalls. "However he just loved it." Alan Hunter remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he notes. "He competed every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the very young age. After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from home play with remarkable ease. His mercurial talent would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory 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 proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party". With his easy charm, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year. When he died in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain." An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back Hunter's true impact would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly. "The idea was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one official said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of." Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor. But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.