'He brought laughter': Remembering snooker's departed star two decades on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, caught at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would result in a professional career that saw him claim six major trophies in half a dozen years.

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

But notwithstanding the passing of a phenomenal skill that rose above the game he loved, his enduring mark on snooker and those who followed his career remain as powerful today.

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a billion years the boy would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum states.

"However he just was passionate about it."

His dad remembers how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a young boy.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from table top snooker with aplomb.

His natural ability would be developed by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their young son had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won a trio of times, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

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

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, 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, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he died in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted.

"The idea was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.

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

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

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

Archive videos of their son's matches online help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, starts later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

But for all his achievements, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.