🔗 Share this article 'He was a joy': Remembering the sport's taken talent 20 years on. Paul Hunter claimed The Masters on three occasions during a short but glittering career. All Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was practice the game. A competitive passion, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him win six major trophies in a six-year span. This year marks two decades since the adored Hunter died from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years. But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that transcended the game he loved, his enduring mark on the sport and those who followed his career remain as vibrant now. 'His passion was clear': The Formative Years "It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime the boy would become a professional snooker player," his mother states. "Yet he just loved it." Hunter's father remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a youth. "He never stopped," he says. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the very young age. After persistently asking 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 leap from home play with remarkable ease. His mercurial talent would be developed by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Quick Success: A Star is Born With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within a short period, 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 presence of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed a trio of 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 humble charm never left him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his natural likability, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. Courage in Crisis: His Final Years In 2005, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple accounts from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he played at the World Championships that year. When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child." A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in community venues across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to young people all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted. "The goal was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence Archive videos of their son's matches online help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can watch it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled." While he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
Paul Hunter claimed The Masters on three occasions during a short but glittering career. All Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was practice the game. A competitive passion, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him win six major trophies in a six-year span. This year marks two decades since the adored Hunter died from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years. But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that transcended the game he loved, his enduring mark on the sport and those who followed his career remain as vibrant now. 'His passion was clear': The Formative Years "It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime the boy would become a professional snooker player," his mother states. "Yet he just loved it." Hunter's father remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a youth. "He never stopped," he says. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the very young age. After persistently asking 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 leap from home play with remarkable ease. His mercurial talent would be developed by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Quick Success: A Star is Born With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within a short period, 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 presence of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed a trio of 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 humble charm never left him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his natural likability, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. Courage in Crisis: His Final Years In 2005, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple accounts from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he played at the World Championships that year. When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child." A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in community venues across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to young people all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted. "The goal was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence Archive videos of their son's matches online help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can watch it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled." While he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.