🔗 Share this article 'He was a joy': Reflecting on the sport's taken talent 20 years on. Paul Hunter secured The Masters three times during a compact but stellar career. Everything the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was practice the game. A competitive passion, sparked at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would result in a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in a six-year span. The present year marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years. But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on the game and those who knew him persist as vibrant now. 'He just loved it': Early Beginnings "It was impossible to foresee in a billion years the boy would become a career sportsman," his mother recalls. "Yet he just was passionate about it." His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he adds. "He competed every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the age of three. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from home play with great skill. His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon. Quick Success: The Path to Glory With his mother and father's requests to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on carving out a career in the game. It proved a masterstroke. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never deserted him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his natural likability, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was christened 'A Sporting Icon'. Courage in Crisis: His Final Years In that year, a year that should have marked the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy. Multiple anecdotes from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child." An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country. The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas fell sharply. "The aim remained 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 globally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube 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 adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all." Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, starts 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 character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.
Paul Hunter secured The Masters three times during a compact but stellar career. Everything the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was practice the game. A competitive passion, sparked at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would result in a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in a six-year span. The present year marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years. But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on the game and those who knew him persist as vibrant now. 'He just loved it': Early Beginnings "It was impossible to foresee in a billion years the boy would become a career sportsman," his mother recalls. "Yet he just was passionate about it." His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he adds. "He competed every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the age of three. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from home play with great skill. His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon. Quick Success: The Path to Glory With his mother and father's requests to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on carving out a career in the game. It proved a masterstroke. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never deserted him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his natural likability, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was christened 'A Sporting Icon'. Courage in Crisis: His Final Years In that year, a year that should have marked the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy. Multiple anecdotes from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child." An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country. The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas fell sharply. "The aim remained 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 globally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube 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 adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all." Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, starts 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 character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.