🔗 Share this article 'He was a joy': Honoring the game's taken talent a score of years on. The talented player claimed The Masters on three occasions during a compact but stellar career. All Paul Hunter truly desired to do was practice the game. A love for the game, sparked at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him secure six significant titles in six years. The present year marks 20 years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years. But notwithstanding the loss of a generational talent that went beyond the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career remain as powerful today. 'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession "We could not have predicted in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter states. "Yet he just was passionate about it." His dad recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a young boy. "He was relentless," he notes. "He practiced every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the toddler years. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from miniature games with aplomb. His natural ability would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within five years, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter won three times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party". With his natural likability, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple accounts from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain." A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The idea was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later Classic footage of their son's matches online 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 concludes. "Initially it was painful, 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 gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, starts later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.
The talented player claimed The Masters on three occasions during a compact but stellar career. All Paul Hunter truly desired to do was practice the game. A love for the game, sparked at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him secure six significant titles in six years. The present year marks 20 years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years. But notwithstanding the loss of a generational talent that went beyond the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career remain as powerful today. 'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession "We could not have predicted in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter states. "Yet he just was passionate about it." His dad recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a young boy. "He was relentless," he notes. "He practiced every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the toddler years. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from miniature games with aplomb. His natural ability would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within five years, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter won three times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party". With his natural likability, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple accounts from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain." A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The idea was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later Classic footage of their son's matches online 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 concludes. "Initially it was painful, 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 gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, starts later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.