🔗 Share this article 'He was a joy': Reflecting on snooker's taken talent two decades on. The snooker star won The Masters thrice during a brief yet brilliant career. Everything the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was play snooker. A love for the game, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in six years. The present year marks two decades since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday. But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that transcended the game he loved, his enduring mark on snooker and those who were close to him remain as strong as ever. 'His passion was clear': The Formative Years "We could not have predicted in a billion years Paul would become a professional snooker player," his mother says. "But he just was passionate about it." His dad remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a young boy. "His dedication was constant," he notes. "He would play every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the toddler years. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from table top snooker with aplomb. His raw skill would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Quick Success: The Path to Glory With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully dedicate himself to carving out a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in the early 2000s. 'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality 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 got on with everybody." "When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party". With his natural likability, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'A Sporting Icon'. A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true legacy 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 no-cost coaching to young people all over the country. The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The aim remained for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We like to reminisce 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 gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.
The snooker star won The Masters thrice during a brief yet brilliant career. Everything the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was play snooker. A love for the game, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in six years. The present year marks two decades since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday. But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that transcended the game he loved, his enduring mark on snooker and those who were close to him remain as strong as ever. 'His passion was clear': The Formative Years "We could not have predicted in a billion years Paul would become a professional snooker player," his mother says. "But he just was passionate about it." His dad remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a young boy. "His dedication was constant," he notes. "He would play every night after school." A prodigy: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the toddler years. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from table top snooker with aplomb. His raw skill would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Quick Success: The Path to Glory With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully dedicate himself to carving out a career in the game. It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in the early 2000s. 'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality 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 got on with everybody." "When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you relaxed." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party". With his natural likability, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'A Sporting Icon'. A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment. Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true legacy 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 no-cost coaching to young people all over the country. The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The aim remained for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally. "Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!" "We like to reminisce 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 gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy. But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.