🔗 Share this article 'He was a joy': Remembering the game's departed star 20 years on. The talented player claimed The Masters on three occasions during a brief yet brilliant career. All Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was compete on the baize. A sporting bug, caught at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a professional career that saw him win half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years. Now marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday. But notwithstanding the passing of a phenomenal skill that rose above the game he loved, his influence and memory on the sport and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever. 'The game was his life': Early Beginnings "It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime the boy would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum states. "Yet he just was passionate about it." His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he notes. "He practiced every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the toddler years. 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 transition from miniature games with great skill. His raw skill would be developed by the 1986 World Champion 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 mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on building a career in the game. It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter won a trio of times, in the early 2000s. 'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" 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 modern era. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true impact would be felt not in high society but in community venues across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to children all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted. "The idea was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said. The Foundation helped establish the basis for a huge coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children globally. "It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory". "I can watch it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all." Although 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 history. 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, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
The talented player claimed The Masters on three occasions during a brief yet brilliant career. All Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was compete on the baize. A sporting bug, caught at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a professional career that saw him win half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years. Now marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday. But notwithstanding the passing of a phenomenal skill that rose above the game he loved, his influence and memory on the sport and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever. 'The game was his life': Early Beginnings "It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime the boy would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum states. "Yet he just was passionate about it." His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a child. "He was relentless," he notes. "He practiced every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the toddler years. 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 transition from miniature games with great skill. His raw skill would be developed by the 1986 World Champion 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 mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on building a career in the game. It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter won a trio of times, in the early 2000s. 'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded. "He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" 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 modern era. No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'. Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth Hunter's true impact would be felt not in high society but in community venues across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to children all over the country. The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted. "The idea was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said. The Foundation helped establish the basis for a huge coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children globally. "It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated. Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory". "I can watch it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all." Although 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 history. 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, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.