in 2003–04, hunter won the 2004 masters for the third time in four years. hunter was behind ronnie o'sullivan during the match 1–6, 2–7, 6–8 and 7–9 before winning the final three frames to win. he made five century breaks in the match. hunter also reached the final of the players championship, but lost 7–9 against jimmy white. at the 2004 premier league snooker event, he made his career highest break, a 146 in a 3–5 loss to marco fu. he reached the second round of the 2004 world snooker championship, where he lost 12–13 against matthew stevens, despite leading at both 10–6 and 12–10.