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Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby SnookerFan

Coming up to the Paul Hunter Classic (PTC 4) this week. I think it's apt that we have a thread remembering the great man.

The man gave us so many memories over the years, from his run in the 2003 World Championships and that match against Ken Doherty, to his plan-b inspired comebacks in the Masters tournaments, it was a loss to snooker the day he died. But an even bigger loss to his wife and young child. :-( Such a shame this gifted and popular snooker player didn't give us more memories.

The first time I attended The Masters live I watched two matches on the opening Sunday, the second one being Mark Williams vs Paul Hunter. By this time Paul Hunter was clearly very ill. He had lost his trademark blonde hair due to chemotherapy and was completely bald. It was a foregone conclusion who would win, with Mark Williams running out a 6-3 winner. Though I must confess it was hard viewing, and even Mark Williams looked a tad uncomfortable in winning, the one person who had no qualms about being out there was Paul himself. Apparently in an interview afterwards, he came out beaming, smiling. Saying; "Did you see that, I won three frames?" At this point he was just happy to be playing a game he loved, everything else had been put in perspective. He wasn't one for just sitting around feeling sorry for himself, like a lot of us would. :bowdown:

A great man, and one for whom I hope PTC 4 is a classic in fitting with the classic memories he gave us.

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Wildey

Looking Back on a player that died so young sometime your judgement of the man/woman is clouded by the fact they died and sometime you wander is that the case with Paul ?

No thats not the case with Paul he was a Great Player who produced his best under Pressure only a handfull of players has ever been able to do that.

he won his First Ranking Title in 1998 and by 2005 Cancer had Struck thats just 7 years at the Top he only played at the Crucible 8 Times 2 of thoes years when he was ill Losing to Michael Holt in 2005 and Neil Robertson(his last match) in 2006 only 6 months before he died.

his life as a top player was very short but in thoes few years he gave us some brilliant moments and i believe Would have gone on to Bigger and Better things had he lived.

RIP Paul but Never Forgotten.

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby SnookerFan

I agree with you that sometimes when a person has died they are remembered for being a better person/talent then they really are.

But I think even in life Paul was a popular person/player, and just mentioning the Masters wins, and Ken Doherty match thats four classic matches he gave us. I'm sure other people have memories of matches they saw him in too. Like I said, even a 6-3 loss when ill provided a fine snooker memory for me.

I remember Lindsey being at The Crucible soon after he died, and was introduced to the crowd before a match. We all stood up and applauded. I think she was there in some official capacity marketing the Paul Hunter Foundation. Even so, it could've felt cheap and tacky. Let's clap her just because. But it didn't. The crowd generally felt bad for her loss, and felt the sense of loss themselves.

Sad times. :sad:

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Witz78

I always grouped certain players in certain categories, usually relative to when they appeared on the scene or made it big.

McManus / Wattana

Doherty/Ebdon (yes i know Doherty was on the scene a few years before Ebdon)

Ronnie/Higgins/Williams (just after them)

Stevens / Hunter / Lee

Hann / Dott

Murphy / Maguire

Robertson / Ding / Selby

Trump/Lisowski (?)

------------------------------

For me its hard to say yes Hunter would have won this, won that etc had he not died young. His grouped players i have him with, Stevens and Lee have done nothing really since Paul died and in general players peak by their late 20s and achieve little after this. Murphy, Maguire, Selby risking ending up in this category along with Stevens and Lee now and Hendry for that matter pretty much in terms of natural decline anyway.

Some might say Paul missed the boat and his one golden chance for World title glory in 2003 and with a new generation emerging like Robertson, Murphy, Selby, Maguire, Ding etc possibly his best chance had gone. After all im sure if say Jimmy had popped his clogs aged 27 everyone would have said he was definetly a future world champion. Thats why i see bold predictions of what ifs and buts as pointless really.

Its hard to imagine Hunter if he was playing now though, prob looking a bit older, not being the new kid in town with people like Trump 11 years younger than him.

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby SnookerFan

Yes, saying; "He would have won at The Crucible for sure had this and that not happened" is purely speculative. And though probably meant to show respect to the guy is a bit pointless.

I prefer to think of the memories he gave us snooker fans. And he gave us some good ones. :bowdown:

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Wildey

to start with i dont believe his chance had gone and far from it at 27 he had won more than Selby,Robertson,Murphy and Maguire had and at the time he got diagnosed he was definitly the biggest threat to Ronnie O'Sullivan.

yes its pointless to speculate how he would have done but equally its pointless saying thoes players would have had the measure of him facts are either way we just do not know.

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby SnookerFan

Wild wrote:to start with i dont believe his chance had gone and far from it at 27 he had won more than Selby,Robertson,Murphy and Maguire had and at the time he got diagnosed he was definitly the biggest threat to Ronnie O'Sullivan.

yes its pointless to speculate how he would have done but equally its pointless saying thoes players would have had the measure of him facts are either way we just do not know.


Of course. There's no point speculating what he would have won, in the same way there is no point speculating how many times he would've lost to other players.

I prefer to remember the legend that he was. :bowdown:

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby KrazeeEyezKilla

Witz78 wrote:For me its hard to say yes Hunter would have won this, won that etc had he not died young. His grouped players i have him with, Stevens and Lee have done nothing really since Paul died and in general players peak by their late 20s and achieve little after this. Murphy, Maguire, Selby risking ending up in this category along with Stevens and Lee now and Hendry for that matter pretty much in terms of natural decline anyway.


Stevens made the World Final a month after Hunter was diagnosed. In the next season Stevens won the NIT and Lee won the Welsh Open so Hunter probably would have a couple more titles at least. If you look at how well Stevens is playing now it's clear he wasted a few years of his career. You could say the same for Lee who is likely to be back in the Top 16 by the end of the the year. Had Hunter avoided that kind of slump he would have had a good chance of winning a World or UK Title. I'm not sure if his great run at the Masters would have continued as O'Sullivan form at Wembley improved massively from 2004 on.

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Wildey

KrazeeEyezKilla wrote:
Witz78 wrote:For me its hard to say yes Hunter would have won this, won that etc had he not died young. His grouped players i have him with, Stevens and Lee have done nothing really since Paul died and in general players peak by their late 20s and achieve little after this. Murphy, Maguire, Selby risking ending up in this category along with Stevens and Lee now and Hendry for that matter pretty much in terms of natural decline anyway.


Stevens made the World Final a month after Hunter was diagnosed. In the next season Stevens won the NIT and Lee won the Welsh Open so Hunter probably would have a couple more titles at least. If you look at how well Stevens is playing now it's clear he wasted a few years of his career. You could say the same for Lee who is likely to be back in the Top 16 by the end of the the year. Had Hunter avoided that kind of slump he would have had a good chance of winning a World or UK Title. I'm not sure if his great run at the Masters would have continued as O'Sullivan form at Wembley improved massively from 2004 on.

results might have improved after 2004 doesent meen his form was any better.

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Tubberlad

First of all, top marks for the piece.

You are correct in saying that some people's reputations are blown out of proportion after they pass on...but you are equally correct in saying that this does not necessarily apply to Hunter. I always liked him, and I always thought he was a brilliant snooker player.

In 2003/04, he was the best player in the world outside of O'Sullivan. He was good enough to be World Champion, whether he would've or not is speculative, but we can all agree that this was indeed a tragedy.

Paul Hunter's death remains the saddest day I've experienced as a snooker fan, and I'm sure that goes for many of us, so can you imagine how tough it was for his family?

A lot of us, myself included, moaned like hell over Higgins winning the World Championship in 2011, but this remains by far and a way the darkest day perhaps that snooker has experienced, in my opinion. Puts our minor gripes well in perspective.

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Witz78

Tubberlad wrote:First of all, top marks for the piece.

You are correct in saying that some people's reputations are blown out of proportion after they pass on...but you are equally correct in saying that this does not necessarily apply to Hunter. I always liked him, and I always thought he was a brilliant snooker player.

In 2003/04, he was the best player in the world outside of O'Sullivan. He was good enough to be World Champion, whether he would've or not is speculative, but we can all agree that this was indeed a tragedy.

Paul Hunter's death remains the saddest day I've experienced as a snooker fan, and I'm sure that goes for many of us, so can you imagine how tough it was for his family?

A lot of us, myself included, moaned like hell over Higgins winning the World Championship in 2011, but this remains by far and a way the darkest day perhaps that snooker has experienced, in my opinion. Puts our minor gripes well in perspective.


it could be argued that anytime Rory McLeod plays, it is the darkest day in snooker :afro:

seriously though, yeh it was kinda out of the blue when the news emerged that Hunter had died, though the lack of any news on him for the months before led to numerous rumours of a decline so it wasnt all that unexpected.

Other than Hunter, snookers been lucky i guess that theres been few deaths to players, Infact its only really in the last decade or so weve lost a few true snooker icons like Fred, Werbeniuk, Spencer, Higgins, Lowe, Vine etc

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Witz78

as bad as Hunters death was though, it didnt hit me anything like the way Higgins death did, that felt like a part of me died when i heard that news.

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Tubberlad

Witz78 wrote:as bad as Hunters death was though, it didnt hit me anything like the way Higgins death did, that felt like a part of me died when i heard that news.

Fair enough, though I definitely disagree. My point on that though is that Higgins' troubles were self-inflicted, and he was at least given the chance to fulfil his very considerable talent. Hunter only had six attempts at the Crucible, not including 2005 and 2006 as they were not realistic chances at all, he died short of his 28th Birthday and had only recently married and become a father. I just thought the whole thing was really something pretty awful, and very sad.

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Casey

Witz78 wrote:I always grouped certain players in certain categories, usually relative to when they appeared on the scene or made it big.

McManus / Wattana

Doherty/Ebdon (yes i know Doherty was on the scene a few years before Ebdon)

Ronnie/Higgins/Williams (just after them)

Stevens / Hunter / Lee

Hann / Dott

Murphy / Maguire

Robertson / Ding / Selby

Trump/Lisowski (?)

------------------------------

For me its hard to say yes Hunter would have won this, won that etc had he not died young. His grouped players i have him with, Stevens and Lee have done nothing really since Paul died and in general players peak by their late 20s and achieve little after this. Murphy, Maguire, Selby risking ending up in this category along with Stevens and Lee now and Hendry for that matter pretty much in terms of natural decline anyway.

Some might say Paul missed the boat and his one golden chance for World title glory in 2003 and with a new generation emerging like Robertson, Murphy, Selby, Maguire, Ding etc possibly his best chance had gone. After all im sure if say Jimmy had popped his clogs aged 27 everyone would have said he was definetly a future world champion. Thats why i see bold predictions of what ifs and buts as pointless really.

Its hard to imagine Hunter if he was playing now though, prob looking a bit older, not being the new kid in town with people like Trump 11 years younger than him.


Ding will soon sit just behind Williams,Higgins and Ronnie. 3 majors in the bag already and a WC will not be too far away.

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Wildey

Witz78 wrote:as bad as Hunters death was though, it didnt hit me anything like the way Higgins death did, that felt like a part of me died when i heard that news.

Alex death was not that unexpected speaking as a fan he was a snooker god far bigger than anyone ive seen play but Paul Hunter was 27 his life and career ahead of him his pro career lastedonly 10 years ...

when i watched him ill playing Robbo in the 2006 WC and they had Frozen his Ranking so he can take the next year or 2 off to Fight this i never thought he wouldnt play again so when the news came through as i switched on Sky News at gone midnight it hit me far harder than when Alex passed on.

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Witz78

whilst it was the right thing to do, i do remember thinking at the time that the decision to freeze his ranking had set a bit of a dangerous precedent. Especially in light of the likes of Chris Smalls back problems when he was left to rot, and the likes of Robin Hull who also had health problems. Similarily Jimmy White had cancer in the mid 90s, albeit it was less serious.

It also got me thinking that what would be to stop someone (lets just say Ronnie) citing a health issue or even mental illness and being able to take time out of the game without his ranking being affected?

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Casey

Witz78 wrote:whilst it was the right thing to do, i do remember thinking at the time that the decision to freeze his ranking had set a bit of a dangerous precedent. Especially in light of the likes of Chris Smalls back problems when he was left to rot, and the likes of Robin Hull who also had health problems. Similarly Jimmy White had cancer in the mid 90s, albeit it was less serious.

It also got me thinking that what would be to stop someone (lets just say Ronnie) citing a health issue or even mental illness and being able to take time out of the game without his ranking being affected?


The player has to be out the whole year, not allowed to play one match if I am correct. I would imagine such an exemption would be well scrutinised and such players found to be taking part in other activities (running for Ronnie) whilst on this leave could well find themselves in trouble.

Re: Remembering Paul Hunter

Postby Wildey

Witz78 wrote:whilst it was the right thing to do, i do remember thinking at the time that the decision to freeze his ranking had set a bit of a dangerous precedent. Especially in light of the likes of Chris Smalls back problems when he was left to rot, and the likes of Robin Hull who also had health problems. Similarily Jimmy White had cancer in the mid 90s, albeit it was less serious.

It also got me thinking that what would be to stop someone (lets just say Ronnie) citing a health issue or even mental illness and being able to take time out of the game without his ranking being affected?

i think it was clear it had to be life threatning a bit of a sniffle would not be enough.