🔗 Share this article 'Paul was fun': Remembering snooker's taken talent two decades on. Paul Hunter secured The Masters on three occasions during a brief yet brilliant career. Everything the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was practice the game. A sporting bug, caught at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years. Now marks 20 years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday. But in spite of the loss of a generational talent that rose above the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who were close to him remain as strong as ever. 'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession "It was impossible to foresee in a million years the boy would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter says. "However he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a young boy. "He was relentless," he adds. "He practiced every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the toddler years. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from miniature games with aplomb. His raw skill would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: A Star is Born With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality 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 got on with everybody." "When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his natural likability, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer In that year, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy. Multiple accounts from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, 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 passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for 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 palaces and castles 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 program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted. "The idea was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one official said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of." While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy 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 dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
Paul Hunter secured The Masters on three occasions during a brief yet brilliant career. Everything the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was practice the game. A sporting bug, caught at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years. Now marks 20 years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday. But in spite of the loss of a generational talent that rose above the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who were close to him remain as strong as ever. 'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession "It was impossible to foresee in a million years the boy would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter says. "However he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a young boy. "He was relentless," he adds. "He practiced every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the toddler years. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from miniature games with aplomb. His raw skill would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: A Star is Born With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality 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 got on with everybody." "When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his natural likability, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer In that year, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy. Multiple accounts from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, 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 passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for 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 palaces and castles 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 program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted. "The idea was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one official said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of." While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy 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 dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.