🔗 Share this article 'Paul was fun': Honoring snooker's departed star 20 years on. The talented player secured The Masters three times during a short but glittering career. All Paul Hunter truly desired to do was compete on the baize. A love for the game, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in Leeds, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him claim six significant titles in half a dozen years. The present year marks a score of years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday. But notwithstanding the loss of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the game and those who followed his career endure as strong as ever. 'The game was his life': Early Beginnings "We could not have predicted in a lifetime the boy would become a career sportsman," his mother states. "But he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he says. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the toddler years. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from miniature games with great skill. His natural ability would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their young son had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter won on three occasions, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his easy charm, handsome features and candid way with the press, 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'. Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience In that year, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while undergoing treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year. When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true contribution 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 accessible training to children all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas dropped significantly. "The aim remained for a program to help get kids off the street," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally. "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: 20 Years Later Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him". "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 mention him than him not be recalled." Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.
The talented player secured The Masters three times during a short but glittering career. All Paul Hunter truly desired to do was compete on the baize. A love for the game, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in Leeds, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him claim six significant titles in half a dozen years. The present year marks a score of years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday. But notwithstanding the loss of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the game and those who followed his career endure as strong as ever. 'The game was his life': Early Beginnings "We could not have predicted in a lifetime the boy would become a career sportsman," his mother states. "But he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he says. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the toddler years. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from miniature games with great skill. His natural ability would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their young son had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter won on three occasions, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his easy charm, handsome features and candid way with the press, 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'. Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience In that year, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while undergoing treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year. When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true contribution 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 accessible training to children all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas dropped significantly. "The aim remained for a program to help get kids off the street," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally. "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: 20 Years Later Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him". "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 mention him than him not be recalled." Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.