“I was playing for his charity last night, to do with the cancer he had,” the six-time world finalist said.

“I was halfway through the exhibition and a guy gave £10,000 (€14,800) to the charity and then we got the news.

“We knew he was very sick and he was close but we got the news halfway through the exhibition.

“The whole room went silent and it was quite eerie really.”

He added on Sky Sports News: “It’s so, so sad. I’m totally gutted. It’s beyond human comprehension. I can’t get my head around it.

“That’s the wonder of this wicked world, I suppose.”

White said he would remember Hunter as his “little mate” and joined the many tributes to one of snooker’s most charismatic young players, who earned the nickname ‘Beckham of the baize’ because of his good looks and flamboyant style.

“He was a tiger on the snooker table, but off the table you couldn’t have met a nicer fellow,” White said.

“He was a bit of a Jack the lad but he was never nasty to anybody, arrogant or rude like these pop stars and some sports people.”

Hunter leaves a wife Lindsey and daughter Evie Rose and White added: “He was a really, really nice kid. He had a lovely family.

“You couldn’t intimidate him. Nothing could put him off. As soon as he got beaten, or he won, he was back to Paul Hunter and that a very hard quality to have.

“I can’t tell you how special he was.

“He was a credit to life.

“He will be in my heart for the rest of my life. It’s a very, very sad day for snooker and sport in general.”

Hunter was diagnosed with neuro-endocrine tumours of the lining of his stomach in March 2005.

He continued to play on the circuit when his treatment would allow and saw his world ranking frozen as a gesture from the World Snooker Association while he continued his fight.

He appeared to be beating the disease when he returned to competition, but his condition deteriorated and he was taken to Kirkwood Hospice in Huddersfield last Friday.

Former world champion Alex Higgins, over whom the shadow of cancer also looms, expressed his sorrow and sympathy.

The 57-year-old, who periodically battles throat cancer, told www.worldsnooker.com: “This is terrible news. I’ve followed his battle closely. We all loved Paul. My thoughts are with his family right now.”

Another Crucible winner, Ken Doherty, called Hunter one of snooker’s “greatest characters”.

“It’s a very sad day, not only for snooker but also for the sporting world,” said Doherty.

“We’ve lost a great character and champion and a great friend. It’s a shocking loss.

“Everybody was dumbfounded when he was diagnosed with the disease. In someone so young we all thought he would come through it after chemotherapy.

“Words can’t explain what his family must be going through and they are all in our minds and our prayers.”

Hunter’s best World Championship performance was reaching the semi-finals in 2003, where he led Doherty 15-9 before the Irishman stormed back to win 17-16.

Doherty added on BBC Radio Five Live: “He had everything, the world at his feet, and it’s such a shame.

“He had the looks. We called him the ‘Beckham of the baize’ and he played up to it.

“He was one of our characters and a fantastic player who was magnanimous in defeat.”

Despite chemotherapy treatment, Hunter remained committed to resuming his career, but he won only one match last season and fell from fifth to 34th in the rankings.

An instinctively attacking player, Hunter turned professional at the age of 16 in 1995 and won his first major title, the 1998 Welsh Open, at the age of 19.

He also won the Welsh Open title in 2002 and picked up the British Open trophy the same year.

He will be best remembered for his exploits at the Wembley Masters.

Hunter recovered from 7-3 down to beat Fergal O’Brien 10-9 in the 2001 final and fought from 5-0 adrift to beat Mark Williams 10-9 in the final a year later.

He completed a hat-trick of Masters victories in 2004 when he came from 7-2 down to beat Ronnie O’Sullivan 10-9.

A Premier League spokesman confirmed there will be a minute’s silence before this week’s matches in Preston on Thursday.