In the quarterfinals of the Snooker Masters, Hawkins defeated Selby. In the seventh inning, the game was paused for a time, at which point the camera cut to an old man sitting in the stands. The audience instantly erupted in enthusiastic cheers, and the old man also stood up to greet the audience.
The old man was none other than Alain, the father of the late snooker star Paul Hunt. The snooker Masters trophy is named after Paul Hunt.
Born in 1978, Paul Hunt has had three ranking titles and one World Championship Final Four experience (2003) in a short career. However, Hunter's most talked about is the legend he left behind in the Masters.
In 2001, Hunter faced O'Brien in the final, dragging the game into the decider after falling behind 3-7 at one point and winning thrillingly in the decider. Back on the Masters a year later, Hunter reached the final again, digging a 0-5 hole early and winning 10-9 in the decider. In 2004, the long-haired Hunter faced the equally long-haired O'Sullivan in the final, this time losing 2-7, 7-9, but again 10-9 to win the championship.
In the history of the Masters, Hunter's three wins are tied for third in history, with only O'Sullivan and Hendry more.
Also in 2004, Hunter came to China with Ding Junhui and Alberton to play the "2004 World Snooker Masters Chinese and Foreign Confrontation Exhibition Competition". Hunter once said in an interview that the trip to China was to promote the snooker movement. Hunter and Alberton, as well as Ding Junhui, who was just starting out at the time, showed Chinese fans the master style of the world's top snooker players. In this competition, the star card escorted the successful holding of the event, and the star billiard table became the designated table for the event.
Hunter revealed in late 2004 that China could host a new event ahead of the 2005 World Championships. As he said, in the spring of 2005, the Snooker China Open was held in Beijing. Shortly before the start of the China Open, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer, but he still responded with optimism. Hunter came to China as scheduled and reached the quarterfinals.
At this China Open, Ding Junhui, who was 18 years old at the time, passed the barrier all the way and finally defeated Hendry in the final to win the championship. This championship has become an important moment in the development of billiards in China and even the world, and has become the beginning of hundreds of millions of Chinese to pay attention to and fall in love with snooker. The "Ding Junhui effect" has still promoted the development of the snooker movement in China and the world.
Unfortunately, Hunter was unable to experience the rapid changes in snooker in these decades. Hunter died of cancer on October 9, 2006, at the age of 27.
Hunter has been away from us for 16 years, but the snooker community and the vast number of fans have never forgotten him and commemorated him in various ways. In 2016, then World Snooker President Barry Herne announced that the Masters Championship Trophy would be renamed the "Paul Hunter Cup" from 2017 onwards.
The movie "Dream Quest" has such a line: "Death is not the end of life, forgetting is." "Hunter's boundless love for snooker, optimism about life, and outstanding results left on the field have become as eternal as his name engraved in the Masters trophy, and will always be remembered by everyone."
At the 2022 Snooker Masters, let's pay tribute to Paul Hunt once again!