🔗 Share this article 'Paul was fun': Reflecting on the sport's taken talent two decades on. The snooker star won The Masters three times during a compact but stellar career. Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was compete on the baize. A competitive passion, caught at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him win six major trophies in half a dozen years. This year marks a score of years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years. But despite the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the sport and those who knew him remain as powerful today. 'He just loved it': Early Beginnings "We'd never have known in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter says. "But he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a youth. "He was relentless," he adds. "He competed every night after school." A prodigy: 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 aspiring talent made the jump from table top snooker 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. Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory With his mother and father's requests 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 building a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their young son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship. 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. 'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "If you met him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his effortless appeal, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Facing Adversity: His Final Years In that year, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy. Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child." A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth 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 free snooker sessions to young people all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted. "The idea was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children all over the world. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later Archive videos of their son's matches online help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all." Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor. But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.
The snooker star won The Masters three times during a compact but stellar career. Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was compete on the baize. A competitive passion, caught at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him win six major trophies in half a dozen years. This year marks a score of years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years. But despite the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the sport and those who knew him remain as powerful today. 'He just loved it': Early Beginnings "We'd never have known in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter says. "But he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a youth. "He was relentless," he adds. "He competed every night after school." A prodigy: 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 aspiring talent made the jump from table top snooker 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. Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory With his mother and father's requests 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 building a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their young son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship. 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. 'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "If you met him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his effortless appeal, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Facing Adversity: His Final Years In that year, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy. Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child." A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth 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 free snooker sessions to young people all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted. "The idea was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children all over the world. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later Archive videos of their son's matches online help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all." Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's folklore. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor. But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.