🔗 Share this article 'Paul was fun': Honoring snooker's taken talent 20 years on. The snooker star claimed The Masters on three occasions during a compact but stellar career. Everything the young snooker player ever wanted to do was practice the game. A sporting bug, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him win six major trophies in a six-year span. This year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years. But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the game he loved, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career persist as powerful today. 'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings "We could not have predicted in a lifetime our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother states. "However he just adored it." His dad recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a youth. "His dedication was constant," he notes. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the age of three. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from table top snooker with aplomb. His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to forging 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 toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party". With his natural likability, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era. 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 been the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain." A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in community venues across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children 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 platform to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory". "I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of." Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's folklore. 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 achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.
The snooker star claimed The Masters on three occasions during a compact but stellar career. Everything the young snooker player ever wanted to do was practice the game. A sporting bug, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him win six major trophies in a six-year span. This year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years. But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the game he loved, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career persist as powerful today. 'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings "We could not have predicted in a lifetime our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother states. "However he just adored it." His dad recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a youth. "His dedication was constant," he notes. "He would play every night after school." Beginning young: Hunter was acquainted with snooker from the age of three. After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from table top snooker with aplomb. His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon. Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to forging 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 toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in the early 2000s. 'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him. "His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody." "If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable." Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party". With his natural likability, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era. 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 been the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment. Multiple stories from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment. Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year. When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members. "The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain." A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in community venues across the UK. The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children 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 platform to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said. The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world. "He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated. Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory". "I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!" "We like to reminisce about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of." Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's folklore. 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 achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.