🔗 Share this article 'Paul was fun': Remembering snooker's departed star two decades on. The snooker star won The Masters thrice during a brief yet brilliant career. All the young snooker player truly desired to do was practice the game. A love for the game, caught at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in half a dozen years. Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday. But in spite of the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career persist as powerful today. 'He just loved it': The Formative Years "We could not have predicted in a million years Paul would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum says. "Yet he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he adds. "He practiced every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the age of three. After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from home play with great skill. His mercurial talent would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears 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 still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter won on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never deserted him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his natural likability, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK. The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to young people 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 offer a constructive activity," one coach said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence Archive videos of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all." While he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
The snooker star won The Masters thrice during a brief yet brilliant career. All the young snooker player truly desired to do was practice the game. A love for the game, caught at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in half a dozen years. Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday. But in spite of the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career persist as powerful today. 'He just loved it': The Formative Years "We could not have predicted in a million years Paul would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum says. "Yet he just was passionate about it." Hunter's father recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he adds. "He practiced every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the age of three. After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from home play with great skill. His mercurial talent would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon. Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears 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 still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter won on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004. 'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never deserted him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his natural likability, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members. "It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK. The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to young people 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 offer a constructive activity," one coach said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence Archive videos of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all." While he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.