🔗 Share this article 'Paul was fun': Reflecting on the game's taken talent a score of years on. The snooker star secured The Masters thrice during a brief yet brilliant career. Everything the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was compete on the baize. A competitive passion, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him win half a dozen major wins in a six-year span. The present year marks 20 years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday. But notwithstanding the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the game he loved, his influence and memory on the game and those who followed his career endure as strong as ever. 'His passion was clear': The Formative Years "We'd never have known in a lifetime Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum says. "But he just loved it." His dad remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a youth. "His dedication was constant," he notes. "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 community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from miniature games with remarkable ease. His mercurial talent would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: A Star is Born With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his easy charm, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was christened 'A Sporting Icon'. A Brave Battle: His Final Years In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he died in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members. "It's awful," 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 impact would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to young people all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The goal was for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "in touch with his memory". "I can bring it up and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all." While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor. But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is never forgotten.
The snooker star secured The Masters thrice during a brief yet brilliant career. Everything the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was compete on the baize. A competitive passion, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him win half a dozen major wins in a six-year span. The present year marks 20 years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday. But notwithstanding the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the game he loved, his influence and memory on the game and those who followed his career endure as strong as ever. 'His passion was clear': The Formative Years "We'd never have known in a lifetime Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum says. "But he just loved it." His dad remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a youth. "His dedication was constant," he notes. "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 community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from miniature games with remarkable ease. His mercurial talent would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: A Star is Born With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on forging a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open. Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his easy charm, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was christened 'A Sporting Icon'. A Brave Battle: His Final Years In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he died in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members. "It's awful," 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 impact would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to young people all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The goal was for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "in touch with his memory". "I can bring it up and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all." While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor. But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is never forgotten.