🔗 Share this article 'He brought laughter': Reflecting on the sport's lost great 20 years on. The talented player secured The Masters on three occasions during a short but glittering career. Everything Paul Hunter always wished to do was compete on the baize. A sporting bug, caught at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years. The present year marks two decades since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday. But despite the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that rose above the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the sport and those who were close to him persist as powerful today. 'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings "We could not have predicted in a lifetime Paul would become a pro on the circuit," his mother recalls. "But he just loved it." Alan Hunter recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a young boy. "He never stopped," he notes. "He practiced every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was familiar with snooker from the age of three. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from home play with aplomb. His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: 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 proved a masterstroke. 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 only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" 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 considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'. A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members. "It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain." An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers across the UK. The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to young people all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas dropped significantly. "The idea was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one official said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children all over the world. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can bring it up and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled." Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is etched into the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
The talented player secured The Masters on three occasions during a short but glittering career. Everything Paul Hunter always wished to do was compete on the baize. A sporting bug, caught at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years. The present year marks two decades since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday. But despite the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that rose above the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the sport and those who were close to him persist as powerful today. 'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings "We could not have predicted in a lifetime Paul would become a pro on the circuit," his mother recalls. "But he just loved it." Alan Hunter recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a young boy. "He never stopped," he notes. "He practiced every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was familiar with snooker from the age of three. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from home play with aplomb. His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: 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 proved a masterstroke. 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 only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" 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 considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'. A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members. "It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain." An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers across the UK. The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to young people all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas dropped significantly. "The idea was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one official said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children all over the world. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can bring it up and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled." Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is etched into the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.