The Snooker World Championship is primed for another cracking final across the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend.
It has been a tournament full of shocks and surprises with both of last year’s finalists in Kyren Wilson and Jak Jones being eliminated in the first round.
This year’s event at the iconic Crucible Theatre has also been notable for the return of Ronnie O’Sullivan, who is playing in his first tournament since January.
Ahead of this year’s final, it seems as appropriate a time as any to remember one of snooker’s most promising talents who died aged 27 after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
He earnt the nickname of the ‘Beckham of the Baize’ thanks to his hairstyle in the early 2000s – as he sported cornrows at the time which bore a striking resemblance to the former England captain.
This is the story of a prodigious talent who reached as high as number four in the world and garnered huge popularity among female fans of the sport along the way.
This is the story of a prodigious talent who reached as high as number four in the world
He earnt the nickname of the ‘Beckham of the Baize’ thanks to his hairstyle in the early 2000s
The player in question sported cornrows at the time which bore a striking resemblance to the former England captain (pictured, Beckham at an England training session in 2003)
Paul Hunter took up the game by playing alongside his father, Alan, at clubs across Yorkshire including in his home city of Leeds.
After excelling at amateur level, he would go on to make his professional debut in the sport at the age of just 16 while being mentored by fellow Yorkshireman Joe Johnson and Jimmy Michie.
He would take to the professional game just as smoothly, becoming the youngest player to reach the semi-finals of a ranking event when did so aged 17 at the 1996 Welsh Open.
A first bump in the road would arrive a year later – when he performed admirably to reach the last 16 stage of the Grand Prix (now known as the World Open) – only to be retrospectively disqualified for testing positive for cannabis.
That saw him fined a total of £4,550 and docked the entirety of the ranking points he had earned at the event.
But the ‘Beckham of the Baize’ was not to be downcast as he roared back in impressive fashion to be crowned the Snooker Writers Association’s Young Player of the Year in 1998.
By virtue of being ranked in the top 16 players in the world following the culmination of the 2000-01 season, Hunter qualified for the 2001 Masters.
While he did reach the final, Hunter was in a spot of bother up against Fergal O’Brien as he trailed 6-2 at the mid-session interval.
However, he would go on to win the match 10-9 and credited having sex with his fiancée during the break in play as a reason for his improved performance.
Paul Hunter is one of only three men to successfully retain their Masters title
Sadly, in April 2005, Paul died from malignant endocrine tumours in his stomach (pictured with his wife Lindsay in 2003)
The Masters trophy was renamed the Paul Hunter Trophy in 2016 in his honour (pictured, Ronnie O’Sullivan holds the trophy aloft after winning it in 2017)
He became only the third man to retain the Masters title – after Cliff Thorburn and Stephen Hendry – after beating Mark Williams.
A third Masters title in four years would come in 2004 would come with a victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan in a contest that has subsequently been regarded as one of the greatest snooker matches of all time.
Sadly, in April 2005, he was diagnosed with malignant endocrine tumours in his stomach which resulted in him receiving chemotherapy.
Tragically, he died from the illness at the age of just 27 on October 9 2006.
His funeral was attended by a host of professionals at the time – including the likes of Matthew Stevens, Hunter’s closest friend on tour, who was one of the pallbearers at the service. Former world champions Hendry and Steve Davis were also in attendance to pay their respects to Hunter.
The Furth German Open – a non-ranking tournament – was renamed the Paul hunter Classic in his honour with the event running until 2019.
The Masters trophy was also renamed the Paul Hunter Trophy in 2016, following calls for that to be the case from the likes of Hendry and Ken Doherty.
Hunter is survived by his wife Lindsay and the pair’s daughter, Evie Rose, who was born in 2005.
In 2007, Lindsey published a memoir entitled Unbreakable: My Life With Paul – A Story Of Extraordinary Courage And Love.
