🔗 Share this article 'He was a joy': Reflecting on the sport's lost great two decades on. The snooker star won The Masters thrice during a compact but stellar career. All the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was compete on the baize. A competitive passion, caught at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him secure six significant titles in six years. Now marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday. But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the sport he adored, his enduring mark on snooker and those who knew him persist as powerful today. 'He just loved it': Early Beginnings "It was impossible to foresee in a million years the boy would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum states. "But he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he notes. "He would play every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was familiar with snooker from the age of three. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from home play with remarkable ease. His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now closed venue in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their young son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue 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." "Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain." An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The aim remained for a platform to help get kids off the street," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all." Although 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 trophy named in his honor. But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
The snooker star won The Masters thrice during a compact but stellar career. All the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was compete on the baize. A competitive passion, caught at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him secure six significant titles in six years. Now marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday. But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the sport he adored, his enduring mark on snooker and those who knew him persist as powerful today. 'He just loved it': Early Beginnings "It was impossible to foresee in a million years the boy would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum states. "But he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he notes. "He would play every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was familiar with snooker from the age of three. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from home play with remarkable ease. His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now closed venue in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their young son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue 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." "Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain." An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The aim remained for a platform to help get kids off the street," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all." Although 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 trophy named in his honor. But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.