At the 2001 Masters, Hunter beat Matthew Stevens 6–5 in the first round, Peter Ebdon 6–3 in the quarter-finals and Stephen Hendry 6–4 in the semi-finals. In the final Hunter met Fergal O'Brien. He was behind 3–7, but won seven out of the next nine frames to win 10–9. After winning , Hunter commented that he and his girlfriend had sex between sessions when losing 2-6 and had caused him to play better.