Playing his first major final, against Fergal O’Brien in the Masters, Hunter was well down at the interval. In a notorious stunt, his manager Brandon Parker instructed him to revert to “Plan B” – which, as Hunter reiterates with determined precision, is “B for bonk”.
In the 2001 Masters, Hunter beat his close friend and defending champion Matthew Stevens 6–5 in the last 16, Peter Ebdon 6–3 in the quarter-finals and Stephen Hendry 6–4 in the semi-finals. In the final Hunter recovered from a 3–7 deficit against Fergal O’Brien to win 10–9. Hunter compiled four centuries in six frames, and earned the £175,000 first prize. In his post-match interview, Hunter caused a media sensation by admitting he resorted to “Plan B” with Lindsey, then his girlfriend, during the interval while 2–6 down. The ‘B’ in “Plan B” purportedly refers to the word “bonk”, a British slang term for sexual intercourse. Hunter and Fell retired to their hotel room and he recalled: “Sex was the last thing on my mind. I just wasn’t in the mood. But I had to do something to break the tension. It was a quick session – around 10 minutes or so – but I felt great afterwards. She jumped in the bath, I had a kip and then played like a dream. I reeled off four centuries in six frames. I won easily.”
See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hunter and Interview Paul Hunter, The Guardian (Monday 12 April 2004).
Gert-Jan Pepping is an Associate Professor in Human Movement at the School of Behavioural and Health Sciences of AUstralian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia.
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