🔗 Share this article 'He brought laughter': Reflecting on the game's taken talent a score of years on. The snooker star claimed The Masters three times during a compact but stellar career. Everything Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was compete on the baize. A love for the game, caught at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a professional career that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in six years. Now marks 20 years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday. But in spite of the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the game and those who were close to him persist as powerful today. 'The game was his life': The Formative Years "We could not have predicted in a million years Paul would become a pro on the circuit," his mother states. "But he just adored it." Hunter's father recounts how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he notes. "He competed every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was familiar with snooker from the very young age. After successfully badgering 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 table top snooker with aplomb. His mercurial talent would be developed by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his natural likability, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was christened 'A Sporting Icon'. Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple anecdotes from across the professional tour highlight 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 played at the World Championships that year. When he succumbed 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 suffer such a loss." An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true impact would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK. The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to young people all over the country. The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The idea was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one official said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children all over the world. "It would have thrilled him 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 watch it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of." Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
The snooker star claimed The Masters three times during a compact but stellar career. Everything Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was compete on the baize. A love for the game, caught at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a professional career that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in six years. Now marks 20 years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday. But in spite of the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the game and those who were close to him persist as powerful today. 'The game was his life': The Formative Years "We could not have predicted in a million years Paul would become a pro on the circuit," his mother states. "But he just adored it." Hunter's father recounts how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he notes. "He competed every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was familiar with snooker from the very young age. After successfully badgering 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 table top snooker with aplomb. His mercurial talent would be developed by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his natural likability, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was christened 'A Sporting Icon'. Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple anecdotes from across the professional tour highlight 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 played at the World Championships that year. When he succumbed 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 suffer such a loss." An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true impact would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK. The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to young people all over the country. The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The idea was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one official said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children all over the world. "It would have thrilled him 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 watch it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of." Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.