🔗 Share this article 'Paul was fun': Honoring snooker's taken talent two decades on. The talented player won The Masters on three occasions during a brief yet brilliant career. All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was practice the game. A love for the game, caught at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him secure six major trophies in half a dozen years. This year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday. But in spite of the loss of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever. 'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession "We could not have predicted in a lifetime our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother says. "However he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a young boy. "He never stopped," he notes. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: 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 professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from table top snooker with remarkable ease. His raw skill would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion 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 mid-teens to fully focus on building a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never left him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'. A Brave Battle: His Final Years In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain." A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles 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, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted. "The goal 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 extended playing opportunities to children globally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Always Remembered: 20 Years Later Classic footage of their son's matches online help his parents stay "close to him". "I can watch it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We don't mind talking about Paul," she concludes. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all." While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. 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 forever celebrated.
The talented player won The Masters on three occasions during a brief yet brilliant career. All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was practice the game. A love for the game, caught at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him secure six major trophies in half a dozen years. This year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday. But in spite of the loss of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever. 'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession "We could not have predicted in a lifetime our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother says. "However he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a young boy. "He never stopped," he notes. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: 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 professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from table top snooker with remarkable ease. His raw skill would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion 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 mid-teens to fully focus on building a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never left him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'. A Brave Battle: His Final Years In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain." A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles 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, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted. "The goal 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 extended playing opportunities to children globally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Always Remembered: 20 Years Later Classic footage of their son's matches online help his parents stay "close to him". "I can watch it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We don't mind talking about Paul," she concludes. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all." While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup. 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 forever celebrated.