'He brought laughter': Remembering snooker's lost great 20 years on.

Everything the young snooker player always wished to do was practice the game.

A sporting bug, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him secure six significant titles in six years.

Now marks 20 years since the popular Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But notwithstanding the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on the game and those who were close to him remain as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a billion years Paul would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum recalls.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

Hunter's father remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a youth.

"His dedication was constant," he says. "He competed 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 aspiring talent made the transition from table top snooker with remarkable ease.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his natural likability, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Courage in Crisis: His Final Years

In 2005, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

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

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly.

"The goal was for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children globally.

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

Forever in Memory: Two Decades On

Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, begins 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 personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.