đź”— Share this article 'He brought laughter': Honoring the game's lost great a score of years on. Paul Hunter secured The Masters thrice during a short but glittering career. All Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker. A competitive passion, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in a six-year span. The present year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday. But in spite of the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the sport and those who knew him remain as vibrant now. 'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession "We could not have predicted in a lifetime the boy would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter recalls. "However he just adored it." His dad recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a child. "He never stopped," he adds. "He competed every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the very young age. After persistently asking 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 transition from home play with aplomb. His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game. It proved a masterstroke. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years. 'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never left him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his natural likability, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. Courage in Crisis: His Final Years In 2005, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members. "It's awful," 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 high society but in community venues across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching 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 idea was for a scheme to help get kids off the street," one organizer said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has extended 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. Always Remembered: 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 whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of." Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, commences 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 character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.
Paul Hunter secured The Masters thrice during a short but glittering career. All Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker. A competitive passion, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in a six-year span. The present year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday. But in spite of the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the sport and those who knew him remain as vibrant now. 'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession "We could not have predicted in a lifetime the boy would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter recalls. "However he just adored it." His dad recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a child. "He never stopped," he adds. "He competed every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was introduced to snooker from the very young age. After persistently asking 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 transition from home play with aplomb. His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game. It proved a masterstroke. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship. Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years. 'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never left him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody." "When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you feel at ease." Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party". With his natural likability, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'. Courage in Crisis: His Final Years In 2005, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy. Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members. "It's awful," 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 high society but in community venues across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching 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 idea was for a scheme to help get kids off the street," one organizer said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has extended 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. Always Remembered: 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 whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of." Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, commences 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 character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.