🔗 Share this article 'He brought laughter': Remembering the game's departed star 20 years on. Paul Hunter won The Masters three times during a compact but stellar career. All Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker. A love for the game, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years. Now marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday. But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the game he loved, his enduring mark on snooker and those who followed his career endure as powerful today. 'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession "It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime our son would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum recalls. "Yet he just loved it." His dad recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a youth. "He was relentless," he says. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the very young age. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from home play with great skill. His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Quick Success: The Path to Glory With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter won a trio of times, in consecutive years. 'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party". With his easy charm, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'A Sporting Icon'. Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience In 2005, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he competed in 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. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Lasting Impact: Giving Back Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK. The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to children all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted. "The goal was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge 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 leading figure in the sport stated. Always Remembered: Two Decades On Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him". "I can watch it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, 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 etched into the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.
Paul Hunter won The Masters three times during a compact but stellar career. All Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker. A love for the game, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years. Now marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday. But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the game he loved, his enduring mark on snooker and those who followed his career endure as powerful today. 'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession "It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime our son would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum recalls. "Yet he just loved it." His dad recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a youth. "He was relentless," he says. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the very young age. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from home play with great skill. His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Quick Success: The Path to Glory With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter won a trio of times, in consecutive years. 'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party". With his easy charm, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'A Sporting Icon'. Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience In 2005, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he competed in 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. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Lasting Impact: Giving Back Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK. The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to children all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted. "The goal was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge 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 leading figure in the sport stated. Always Remembered: Two Decades On Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him". "I can watch it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, 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 etched into the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.