🔗 Share this article 'He was a joy': Remembering the game's taken talent a score of years on. Paul Hunter claimed The Masters three times during a brief yet brilliant career. Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was practice the game. A competitive passion, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would result in a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in half a dozen years. This year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years. But in spite of the loss of a phenomenal skill that rose above the sport he adored, his legacy and impact on the game and those who knew him remain as vibrant now. 'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession "We'd never have known in a billion years Paul would become a career sportsman," his mother recalls. "But he just loved it." His dad remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a young boy. "He was relentless," he adds. "He practiced every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the age of three. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from miniature games with great skill. His mercurial talent would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion With his mother and father's requests to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game. It proved a masterstroke. 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 involvement of elite players only, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in consecutive years. 'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never left him. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'A Sporting Icon'. Facing Adversity: His Final Years In 2005, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple accounts from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year. When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities. "It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child." An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas dropped significantly. "The idea was for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence Archive videos of their son's matches online help his parents stay "close to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "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 highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor. But for all his successes, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.
Paul Hunter claimed The Masters three times during a brief yet brilliant career. Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was practice the game. A competitive passion, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would result in a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in half a dozen years. This year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years. But in spite of the loss of a phenomenal skill that rose above the sport he adored, his legacy and impact on the game and those who knew him remain as vibrant now. 'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession "We'd never have known in a billion years Paul would become a career sportsman," his mother recalls. "But he just loved it." His dad remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a young boy. "He was relentless," he adds. "He practiced every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the age of three. After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from miniature games with great skill. His mercurial talent would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon. Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion With his mother and father's requests to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game. It proved a masterstroke. 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 involvement of elite players only, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in consecutive years. 'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never left him. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'A Sporting Icon'. Facing Adversity: His Final Years In 2005, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple accounts from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year. When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities. "It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child." An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK. The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country. The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas dropped significantly. "The idea was for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence Archive videos of their son's matches online help his parents stay "close to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "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 highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's legend. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor. But for all his successes, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.