In the 2003 World Snooker Championship, he defeated Allister Carter 10–5, Matthew Stevens 13–6 and defending champion Peter Ebdon 13–12 to reach the semi-finals. In his best-of-33-frames semi-final, Hunter established a 15–9 overnight lead over Ken Doherty, however he only won one of the remaining nine frames, and lost 16–17. The match was later broadcast as a "Crucible classic" on the BBC during the original dates for the 2020 World Snooker Championship when the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the loss, he earned a place in the world's top eight in the 2003-2004 world rankings for the first time in his career, having been ranked number nine for the previous two seasons.