🔗 Share this article 'He brought laughter': Remembering the sport's lost great two decades on. Paul Hunter claimed The Masters on three occasions during a compact but stellar career. Everything the young snooker player always wished to do was compete on the baize. A competitive passion, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in the city of Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years. Now marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday. But in spite of the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career persist as vibrant now. 'He just loved it': The Formative Years "It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime Paul would become a professional snooker player," his mother says. "But he just adored it." Hunter's father remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a young boy. "He was relentless," he adds. "He competed every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the age of three. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from home play with great skill. His natural ability would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory With his family's urging 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 dedicate himself to building a career in the game. It was a resounding success. 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 exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never left him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his natural likability, handsome features and honest interview style, 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 Snooker World's Beckham'. Facing Adversity: His Final Years In that year, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he died in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain." A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers 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 scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted. "The idea was for a platform 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 globally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him". "I can bring it up and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all." Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's history. 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, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
Paul Hunter claimed The Masters on three occasions during a compact but stellar career. Everything the young snooker player always wished to do was compete on the baize. A competitive passion, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in the city of Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years. Now marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday. But in spite of the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career persist as vibrant now. 'He just loved it': The Formative Years "It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime Paul would become a professional snooker player," his mother says. "But he just adored it." Hunter's father remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a young boy. "He was relentless," he adds. "He competed every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the age of three. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from home play with great skill. His natural ability would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory With his family's urging 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 dedicate himself to building a career in the game. It was a resounding success. 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 exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never left him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his natural likability, handsome features and honest interview style, 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 Snooker World's Beckham'. Facing Adversity: His Final Years In that year, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he died in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain." A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers 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 scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted. "The idea was for a platform 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 globally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him". "I can bring it up and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all." Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's history. 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, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.