The Snooker World Championship is prepared for another cracking final throughout the next weekend of bank holidays.
It was a tournament full of shocks and surprises with the two finalists from last year to Kyren Wilson and Jak Jones eliminated in the first round.
This year’s event at the iconic crucible theater was also remarkable for the return of Ronnie O’Sullivan, who has been playing in her first tournament since January.
Before the final of this year, it seems the most suitable than anyone to remember one of the most promising talents of Snooker who died at the age of 27 after receiving a diagnosis of rare cancer.
He won the nickname of the “Beckham of the Baize” thanks to his hairstyle in the early 2000s – while he sported Cornrows at the time which brought a striking resemblance to the former captain of England.
It is the story of a prodigious talent that has reached number four in the world and has gained enormous popularity among female fans of sport along the way.
This is the story of a prodigious talent that has reached number four in the world
He won 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 looked like a striking resemblance to the former captain of England (photo, Beckham during a training session in England in 2003)
Paul Hunter took the match by playing alongside his father, Alan, in Yorkshire clubs, including in his hometown of Leeds.
After having excelled at the amateur level, he would make his professional debut in sport at the age of only 16 years while being supervised by colleague Yorkshireman Joe Johnson and Jimmy Michie.
He would take the professional game as well, becoming the youngest player to reach the semi-finals of a classification event when he was 17 years old at the Welsh Open in 1996.
A first bump on the road would arrive a year later – when he admirably reached the last 16 floors of the Grand Prix (now known as World Open) – to be retrospectively disqualified to be tested positive for cannabis.
This saw him inflicted a fine on a total of £ 4,550 and accosted all of the classification points he had earned during the event.
But the “Beckham of the Baize” should not be killed while he was impressively roaring to be crowned the young player of the year of the Snooker Writers Association in 1998.
Due to their ranking in the 16 best players in the world after the 2000-01 season culminated, Hunter qualified for the Masters 2001.
While he reached the final, Hunter was in one place to disturb Fergal O’Brien while he was hanging around 6-2 at the interval of mid-session.
However, he would win the match 10-9 and credited he had sex with his fiancée during the break in play as a reason for his improved performance.
Paul Hunter is one of the only three men to successfully keep their master’s title
Unfortunately, in April 2005, Paul died of malignant endocrine tumors in his stomach (photo with his wife Lindsay in 2003)
The Masters trophy was renamed the Paul Hunter trophy in 2016 in his honor (photo, Ronnie O’Sullivan holds the trophy at altitude after winning it in 2017)
He became the third man to keep the title of the Masters – after Cliff Thorburn and Stephen Hendry – after defeating Mark Williams.
A third title of Masters in four years would come in 2004 with a victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan in a competition which was then considered one of the biggest snooler games of all time.
Unfortunately, in April 2005, he received a diagnosis of malignant endocrine tumors in his stomach, which made him receive chemotherapy.
Tragically, he died of the disease at the age of only 27 years on October 9, 2006.
His funeral attended a multitude of professionals at the time – including Matthew Stevens, the closest friend of Hunter on tour, who was one of the carriers of the service. The former world champions Hendry and Steve Davis were also present to pay tribute to Hunter.
The German Open Furt – an unclogged tournament – was renamed the Paul Hunter Classic in his honor with the event taking place until 2019.
The Masters trophy was also renamed the Paul Hunter trophy in 2016, according to calls for Hendry and Ken Doherty.
Hunter is survived by his wife Lindsay and the couple’s daughter, Evie Rose, who was born in 2005.
In 2007, Lindsey published a memory entitled Unbreakable: My Life with Paul – A story of extraordinary courage and love.
