'He brought laughter': Reflecting on snooker's departed star 20 years on.

All Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was practice the game.

A competitive passion, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would result in a professional career that saw him win six significant titles in a six-year span.

The present year marks a score of years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the loss of a phenomenal skill that rose above the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the game and those who were close to him remain as vibrant now.

'The game was his life': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years our son would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter states.

"However he just loved it."

Hunter's father recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a youth.

"He never stopped," he adds. "He competed every night after school."

After successfully badgering 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 miniature games with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory

With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

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

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

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed."

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 easy charm, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

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

Multiple stories from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete 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 autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

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

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK.

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

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

"The aim remained for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one coach 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 chairman in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

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

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

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

Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's folklore.

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

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 forever celebrated.