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

All the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was practice the game.

A competitive passion, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a professional career that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in six years.

This year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the sport and those who were close to him persist as vibrant now.

'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother says.

"But he just loved it."

His dad remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

"He was relentless," he notes. "He competed every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from home play with remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion

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 fourteen years old to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter won a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

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

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

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his natural likability, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Snooker World's Beckham'.

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple stories from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back

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

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

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply.

"The idea was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said.

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

"It would have thrilled him 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 online help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she continues. "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 gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins 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 character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.