| As an amateur, Paul
Hunter was runner up to Stephen Lee in the British Under 18
and won the Pontins Star of the Future under 16 event. Twice
winner of the Leicester Junior Open he joined the professional
ranks in 1995 with high hopes of success.
He did not disappoint and in his very first season, still
only 17, he reached the semi-final of the Regal Welsh Open,
the youngest player ever to reach that stage by some six months.
He had beaten Stephen Hendry, then at the peak of his powers
in the quarters but John Parrott ended his run. Two other
last 32 places helped him to a first season ranking of 78
which had only been bettered by a small and elite group of
players. The following season he proved that was no fluke
by reaching the UK quarter-finals and moved up again to number
43.
Having reached the last 16 of the Grand Prix in 1997/98 he
did nothing in the other early season events until he arrived
in Newport where he had enjoyed his previous best performance
in the Regal Welsh Open. This time he did even better. He
beat Steve Davis, Nigel Bond, Alan McManus and Peter Ebdon
to set up a final against John Higgins. Against all the odds,
Paul beat John 9-5 for his first major title and a £60,000
cheque. A new star had arrived on the scene it seemed. Another
last 16 spot followed in the Regal Scottish and he was up
to 24th in the world rankings. He failed for the third time
to qualify for the world championships but his performance
in Wales earned him the Snooker Writers Association Young
Player of the Year award.
The next season he consolidated his position with a UK semi-final
and a quarter-final in the Regal Scottish. He reached the
Crucible stage of the world championship at last and this
was enough to move him into the to 16 at number 12. He did
not live up to expectations in 1999/2000 and was criticised
for spending too much time enjoying the good life rather than
concentrating on his game. Whatever the reason, he failed
to progress beyond the last 16 in any event and three times
lost his opening match. His world ranking fell to 14th.
Although he began the 2000/01 season still officially in
the top 16, his provisional ranking was down to 18 and it
was clear that he needed to get his act together to retain
his place in the top flight. He had obviously taken heed of
the danger signs as, in the first event of the new season,
the British Open, he reached the semi-finals and when he followed
this with a quarter-final in the Grand Prix his position was
looking much more secure. He lost his opener in the UK but
another quarter-final came in the China Open and he followed
his with his second appearance in a ranking final. Again it
was the Regal Welsh but this time he finished with the runner-up
cheque as Ken Doherty proved too good. It was then off to
Wembley for what was only his second Masters. He beat holder
Matthew Stevens in his opener followed by Peter Ebdon and
a semi-final win over Stephen Hendry took him into the final.
There he met Irishman, Fergal O'Brien. 2-6 down after the
first session, Paul produced a fantastic run including a record
four centuries in six frames and eventually clinched the match
in the deciding frame well after midnight. He also had a share
in the high break prize and took home £185,000. He was
still not finished and notched up another semi-final in the
Regal Scottish. He ended the season, after reaching the Embassy
last 16, ranked at number nine.
After that wonderful season where he proved to both himself
and his doubters that he could settle down to the task in
hand, he now has a great launching pad to go on to bigger
and better things. He has amassed a total of £552,350
in prize money and he will begin the new campaign provisionally
up to seventh and with a good opportunity of securing a place
in the world's top eight at least.
Since then Paul has pushed on, reaching a world
semi final, winning the British Open, the Masters
again and was runner up in the Players Championship
which helped lift him to number four in the
rankings.
The 2004-5 campaign was disappointing for Hunter,
but understandable when the shock announcement came
that Hunter had contracted a form of cancer.
Immediately following the 2005 Embassy World
Championship, in which Hunter lost his opening match
to Michael Holt, he started on a course of
chemotherapy and the best wishes of everyone in the
game goes to the personable lad from Leeds.
Hunter returned to competition following a summer of
chemotherapy, at the German Open. He received a standing
ovation from the packed crowd. He reached the last 16, but the
main achievement was in being able to play again.
Still battling against both his illness and the treatment,
Hunter was to win just one more match in the 2005-6 season.
And it was a remarkable display of determination and courage,
as he came back from needing snookers to edge Jamie Burnett
9-8 in the UK Championship, a long, strength-sapping match.
Hunter played what proved to be his final match at the
Crucible, losing the match to Neil Robertson, but as ever,
endearing himself to friends and fans alike.
Paul Hunter lost his courageous battle against cancer on
9th October 2006. He will be sadly missed, but never
forgotten. He lit up both the sport and the lives of all who
knew, and the countless millions who followed both his
exploits on the table, and his battle with illness, through
the media.
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