🔗 Share this article 'He brought laughter': Reflecting on the game's lost great a score of years on. The snooker star won The Masters on three occasions during a brief yet brilliant career. Everything the young snooker player ever wanted to do was play snooker. A sporting bug, 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 professional career that saw him secure six major trophies in a six-year span. This year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday. But in spite of the tragic departure of a generational talent that went beyond the game he loved, his influence and memory on snooker and those who knew him remain as vibrant now. 'The game was his life': Early Beginnings "It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime Paul would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum recalls. "However he just adored it." His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he adds. "He competed every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the very young age. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from table top snooker with aplomb. His raw skill would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon. Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on building a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, 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 presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won a trio of times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never deserted him. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable." 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 easy charm, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Facing Adversity: His Final Years In 2005, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities. "It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child." An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to youths all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas fell sharply. "The idea was for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major 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. Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence Archive videos of their son's matches online 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 concludes. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled." Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, begins later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his successes, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.
The snooker star won The Masters on three occasions during a brief yet brilliant career. Everything the young snooker player ever wanted to do was play snooker. A sporting bug, 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 professional career that saw him secure six major trophies in a six-year span. This year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday. But in spite of the tragic departure of a generational talent that went beyond the game he loved, his influence and memory on snooker and those who knew him remain as vibrant now. 'The game was his life': Early Beginnings "It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime Paul would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum recalls. "However he just adored it." His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he adds. "He competed every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the very young age. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from table top snooker with aplomb. His raw skill would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon. Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on building a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, 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 presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won a trio of times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never deserted him. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable." 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 easy charm, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Facing Adversity: His Final Years In 2005, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities. "It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child." An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to youths all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas fell sharply. "The idea was for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major 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. Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence Archive videos of their son's matches online 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 concludes. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled." Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, begins later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his successes, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.