🔗 Share this article 'Paul was fun': Honoring the sport's lost great two decades on. The talented player claimed The Masters on three occasions during a short but glittering career. All the young snooker player ever wanted to do was compete on the baize. A competitive passion, developed at the tender 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 secure half a dozen major wins in six years. The present year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday. But notwithstanding the passing of a generational talent that went beyond the game he loved, his influence and memory on snooker and those who were close to him endure as vibrant now. 'His passion was clear': The Formative Years "It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime Paul would become a professional snooker player," his mother says. "Yet he just loved it." Hunter's father remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a child. "His dedication was constant," he notes. "He competed every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the age of three. After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from home play with remarkable ease. His natural ability would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb 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 "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their young son had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years. 'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never left him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his easy charm, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'A Sporting Icon'. Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer In 2005, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue 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 cherished personalities. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain." A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true contribution 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 free snooker sessions to youths all over the country. The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas fell sharply. "The idea was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said. The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major 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 senior official in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: Two Decades On Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory". "I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of." Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's legend. 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 character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.
The talented player claimed The Masters on three occasions during a short but glittering career. All the young snooker player ever wanted to do was compete on the baize. A competitive passion, developed at the tender 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 secure half a dozen major wins in six years. The present year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday. But notwithstanding the passing of a generational talent that went beyond the game he loved, his influence and memory on snooker and those who were close to him endure as vibrant now. 'His passion was clear': The Formative Years "It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime Paul would become a professional snooker player," his mother says. "Yet he just loved it." Hunter's father remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a child. "His dedication was constant," he notes. "He competed every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the age of three. After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from home play with remarkable ease. His natural ability would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb 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 "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their young son had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years. 'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never left him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his easy charm, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'A Sporting Icon'. Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer In 2005, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue 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 cherished personalities. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain." A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true contribution 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 free snooker sessions to youths all over the country. The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas fell sharply. "The idea was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said. The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major 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 senior official in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: Two Decades On Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory". "I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of." Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's legend. 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 character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.