🔗 Share this article 'Paul was fun': Remembering the sport's departed star a score of years on. Paul Hunter won The Masters thrice during a compact but stellar career. All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was play snooker. A love for the game, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him claim six major trophies in half a dozen years. Now marks a score of years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years. But notwithstanding the passing of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the game and those who followed his career remain as vibrant now. 'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings "We could not have predicted in a million years our son would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum recalls. "However he just loved it." Hunter's father remembers how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a young boy. "He was relentless," he notes. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was familiar with 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 transition from miniature games with aplomb. His natural ability would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter won a trio of times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party". With his natural likability, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy. Multiple stories from across the sporting world attest to 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 played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he died in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities. "It's awful," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain." An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK. The charity in his name, 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, issues with young people in some areas plummeted. "The goal was for a platform to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said. The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major 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 chairman 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 anytime," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled." While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his achievements, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.
Paul Hunter won The Masters thrice during a compact but stellar career. All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was play snooker. A love for the game, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him claim six major trophies in half a dozen years. Now marks a score of years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years. But notwithstanding the passing of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the game and those who followed his career remain as vibrant now. 'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings "We could not have predicted in a million years our son would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum recalls. "However he just loved it." Hunter's father remembers how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a young boy. "He was relentless," he notes. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was familiar with 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 transition from miniature games with aplomb. His natural ability would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter won a trio of times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party". With his natural likability, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy. Multiple stories from across the sporting world attest to 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 played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he died in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities. "It's awful," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain." An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK. The charity in his name, 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, issues with young people in some areas plummeted. "The goal was for a platform to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said. The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major 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 chairman 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 anytime," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled." While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his achievements, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.