'He brought laughter': Honoring the sport's taken talent two decades on.

All the young snooker player always wished to do was compete on the baize.

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 result in a pro playing days that saw him secure six major trophies in a six-year span.

This year marks two decades since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the game he loved, his influence and memory on the game and those who were close to him persist as powerful today.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime the boy would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum says.

"But he just adored it."

His dad recounts how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from table top snooker with remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion

With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on carving out a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious three times, in the early 2000s.

'A Gracious Competitor': A Legacy of Character

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

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

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

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

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.

No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'A Sporting Icon'.

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on 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 October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

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

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to young people all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a program to help get kids off the street," one official said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world.

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

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, 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 spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.