🔗 Share this article 'Paul was fun': Remembering the game's taken talent a score of years on. The talented player claimed The Masters on three occasions during a compact but stellar career. All the young snooker player truly desired to do was play snooker. A love for the game, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in six years. This year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday. But in spite of the passing of a phenomenal skill that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career endure as powerful today. 'He just loved it': The Formative Years "It was impossible to foresee in a billion years our son would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum states. "But he just was passionate about it." His dad remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a young boy. "His dedication was constant," he notes. "He competed every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was familiar with snooker from the very young age. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from miniature games with great skill. His raw skill would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won a trio of times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his natural likability, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'A Sporting Icon'. A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer In that year, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers 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 program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The aim remained for a program to help get kids off the street," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way 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 chairman in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all." Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, starts later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor. But for all his successes, 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 compact but stellar career. All the young snooker player truly desired to do was play snooker. A love for the game, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in six years. This year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday. But in spite of the passing of a phenomenal skill that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career endure as powerful today. 'He just loved it': The Formative Years "It was impossible to foresee in a billion years our son would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum states. "But he just was passionate about it." His dad remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a young boy. "His dedication was constant," he notes. "He competed every night after school." Early starter: Hunter was familiar with snooker from the very young age. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from miniature games with great skill. His raw skill would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game. It was a resounding success. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998. Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won a trio of times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him. "He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody." "If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party". With his natural likability, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century. No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'A Sporting Icon'. A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer In that year, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment. Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to suffer such a loss." A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers 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 program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply. "The aim remained for a program to help get kids off the street," one organizer said. The Foundation helped pave the way 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 chairman in the sport stated. Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "connected to him". "I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!" "We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all." Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's history. The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, starts later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor. But for all his successes, 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.