Paul Hunter
English former professional snooker player, three-time Masters champion / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event at the 2001, 2002, and 2004 tournaments, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on all three occasions. He also won three ranking events: the Welsh Open twice, in 1998 and 2002, and the 2002 British Open.
Born | (1978-10-14)14 October 1978 Leeds, England |
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Died | 9 October 2006(2006-10-09) (aged 27) Huddersfield, England |
Sport country | England |
Nickname | Beckham of the Baize[1] |
Professional | 1995–2006 |
Highest ranking | 4 (2004/2005) |
Century breaks | 114 |
Tournament wins | |
Ranking | 3 |
In March 2005, Hunter was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumours, but continued to play for several months afterwards. He died shortly before his 28th birthday in October 2006. In his memory, a tournament in Fürth, Germany, was renamed the Paul Hunter Classic and, in April 2016, the Masters trophy was renamed the Paul Hunter Trophy. A prolific break-builder, he made 114 century breaks, the highest being a 146 in the 2004 Premier League. During the 2004–05 snooker season, he attained a career-high ranking of number four in the world. Following his death, Hunter was posthumously awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award.