🔗 Share this article 'He was a joy': Honoring the sport's lost great 20 years on. Paul Hunter claimed The Masters thrice during a compact but stellar career. All Paul Hunter always wished to do was compete on the baize. A sporting bug, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him secure six significant titles in half a dozen years. This year marks a score of years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday. But despite the passing of a generational talent that rose above the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the game and those who were close to him persist as strong as ever. 'The game was his life': Early Beginnings "It was impossible to foresee in a million years Paul would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter states. "But he just loved it." Alan Hunter remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a child. "He never stopped," he notes. "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 community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from table top snooker with great skill. His natural ability would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of elite players only, Hunter won three times, in the early 2000s. 'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never deserted him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his effortless appeal, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Beckham of the Baize'. A Brave Battle: His Final Years In 2005, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple accounts from across the sporting world highlight 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 World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he died in the mid-2000s, 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 lose a child." A Lasting Impact: Giving Back Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in community venues across the UK. The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to young people all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted. "The idea was for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Always Remembered: 20 Years Later Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory". "I can watch it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him 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 ingrained in the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
Paul Hunter claimed The Masters thrice during a compact but stellar career. All Paul Hunter always wished to do was compete on the baize. A sporting bug, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him secure six significant titles in half a dozen years. This year marks a score of years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday. But despite the passing of a generational talent that rose above the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the game and those who were close to him persist as strong as ever. 'The game was his life': Early Beginnings "It was impossible to foresee in a million years Paul would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter states. "But he just loved it." Alan Hunter remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a child. "He never stopped," he notes. "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 community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from table top snooker with great skill. His natural ability would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of elite players only, Hunter won three times, in the early 2000s. 'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never deserted him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his effortless appeal, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Beckham of the Baize'. A Brave Battle: His Final Years In 2005, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple accounts from across the sporting world highlight 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 World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he died in the mid-2000s, 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 lose a child." A Lasting Impact: Giving Back Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in community venues across the UK. The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to young people all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted. "The idea was for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Always Remembered: 20 Years Later Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory". "I can watch it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him 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 ingrained in the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.