🔗 Share this article 'He brought laughter': Honoring the sport's departed star 20 years on. Paul Hunter secured The Masters three times during a compact but stellar career. All the young snooker player always wished to do was play snooker. A love for the game, caught at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years. Now marks two decades since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years. But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a generational talent that transcended the sport he adored, his legacy and impact on the game and those who were close to him remain as strong as ever. 'He just loved it': The Formative Years "We could not have predicted in a billion years Paul would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum recalls. "However he just was passionate about it." Alan Hunter recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a youth. "He never stopped," he adds. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the very young age. After repeatedly pleading with 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 miniature games with remarkable ease. His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on building a career in the game. It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter won a trio of times, in consecutive years. 'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. 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 "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party". With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer In 2005, a year that should have been the height of his career, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy. Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities. "It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child." An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted. "The goal was for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children globally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can bring it up and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled." Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor. But for all his achievements, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
Paul Hunter secured The Masters three times during a compact but stellar career. All the young snooker player always wished to do was play snooker. A love for the game, caught at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years. Now marks two decades since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years. But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a generational talent that transcended the sport he adored, his legacy and impact on the game and those who were close to him remain as strong as ever. 'He just loved it': The Formative Years "We could not have predicted in a billion years Paul would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum recalls. "However he just was passionate about it." Alan Hunter recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a youth. "He never stopped," he adds. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the very young age. After repeatedly pleading with 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 miniature games with remarkable ease. His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on building a career in the game. It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter won a trio of times, in consecutive years. 'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. 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 "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party". With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer In 2005, a year that should have been the height of his career, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy. Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities. "It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child." An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted. "The goal was for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children globally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can bring it up and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled." Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor. But for all his achievements, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.