'He brought laughter': Remembering the game's taken talent two decades on.

Everything the young snooker player truly desired to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

Now marks 20 years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the sport he adored, his influence and memory on snooker and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': The Formative Years

"We'd never have known in a lifetime our son would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter states.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

Hunter's father remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

"His dedication was constant," he notes. "He would play every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from table top snooker with great skill.

His raw skill would be developed by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Quick Success: The Path to Glory

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never left him.

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his easy charm, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

In 2005, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to children all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one official said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally.

"It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy.

But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.