🔗 Share this article 'He was a joy': Reflecting on snooker's taken talent two decades on. The talented player secured The Masters thrice during a compact but stellar career. Everything Paul Hunter always wished to do was practice the game. A love for the game, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature 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 half a dozen years. The present year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday. But in spite of the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who were close to him persist as powerful today. 'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession "We could not have predicted in a million years Paul would become a career sportsman," his mother says. "However he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a child. "He never stopped," he says. "He practiced 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 full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from table top snooker with great skill. His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion With his mother and father's requests to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to 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 most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party". With his easy charm, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers. "It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Lasting Impact: Giving Back Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to children all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas fell sharply. "The idea was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one official said. The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major coaching programme, which has provided 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 leading figure in the sport stated. Always Remembered: 20 Years Later Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can bring it up and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled." While he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is etched into the sport's legend. 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.
The talented player secured The Masters thrice during a compact but stellar career. Everything Paul Hunter always wished to do was practice the game. A love for the game, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature 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 half a dozen years. The present year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday. But in spite of the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who were close to him persist as powerful today. 'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession "We could not have predicted in a million years Paul would become a career sportsman," his mother says. "However he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a child. "He never stopped," he says. "He practiced 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 full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from table top snooker with great skill. His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion With his mother and father's requests to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to 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 most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party". With his easy charm, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers. "It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Lasting Impact: Giving Back Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to children all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas fell sharply. "The idea was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one official said. The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major coaching programme, which has provided 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 leading figure in the sport stated. Always Remembered: 20 Years Later Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can bring it up and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled." While he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is etched into the sport's legend. 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.