Paul Hunter

Paul Hunter

Born	(1978-10-14)14 October 1978 Leeds, England
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 (2004–05)
Century breaks	114
Tournament wins
Ranking	3

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 in 2001, 2002, and 2004; on all three occasions, he recovered from a deficit in the final to claim the title on a deciding frame. He also won three ranking events: the Welsh Open in 1998 and 2002, and the 2002 British Open.

Hunter was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumours in March 2005, but he continued to play for several months after receiving the diagnosis. He died shortly before his 28th birthday in October 2006. A tournament in Fürth, Germany, was renamed the Paul Hunter Classic in his memory, and he was posthumously awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award. In April 2016, the Masters trophy was renamed the Paul Hunter Trophy. He made 114 century breaks in professional competition, the highest of these a 146 in the 2004 Premier League tournament. During the 2004‍–‍05 season, Hunter attained a career-high ranking of world number four.