'He brought laughter': Remembering snooker's departed star 20 years on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, caught at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

The present year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the game he loved, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who knew him remain as powerful today.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years Paul would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter states.

"However he just loved it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a child.

"He was relentless," he says. "He practiced every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from home play with aplomb.

His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won on three occasions, in the early 2000s.

'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded.

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.

No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Beckham of the Baize'.

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple accounts from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in community venues across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to youths all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas dropped significantly.

"The idea was for a platform to help offer a constructive activity," one official said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally.

"He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "close to him".

"I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his successes, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.