🔗 Share this article 'He brought laughter': Honoring snooker's taken talent a score of years on. The talented player secured The Masters thrice during a short but glittering career. Everything the young snooker player truly desired to do was play snooker. A competitive passion, caught at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a professional career that saw him win six significant titles in a six-year span. This year marks two decades since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday. But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the sport and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever. 'He just loved it': The Formative Years "We'd never have known in a lifetime our son would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter recalls. "But he just loved it." Alan Hunter recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a child. "He never stopped," he adds. "He would play 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 local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from home play with aplomb. His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory 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 age of 14 to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party". With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience In 2005, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre 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. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child." 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 no-cost coaching to children all over the country. The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted. "The idea was for a program to help get kids off the street," one official said. The Foundation helped establish the basis for a significant coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Always Remembered: 20 Years Later Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "in touch with his memory". "I can access it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "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 widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his successes, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
The talented player secured The Masters thrice during a short but glittering career. Everything the young snooker player truly desired to do was play snooker. A competitive passion, caught at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a professional career that saw him win six significant titles in a six-year span. This year marks two decades since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday. But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the sport and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever. 'He just loved it': The Formative Years "We'd never have known in a lifetime our son would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter recalls. "But he just loved it." Alan Hunter recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a child. "He never stopped," he adds. "He would play 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 local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from home play with aplomb. His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory 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 age of 14 to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party". With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience In 2005, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre 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. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child." 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 no-cost coaching to children all over the country. The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted. "The idea was for a program to help get kids off the street," one official said. The Foundation helped establish the basis for a significant coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Always Remembered: 20 Years Later Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "in touch with his memory". "I can access it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "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 widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his successes, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.