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

All Paul Hunter 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 family's living room table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a professional career that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

The present year marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that transcended the game he loved, his influence and memory on the game and those who were close to him endure as powerful today.

'His passion was clear': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime our son would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter says.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

Hunter's father recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a young boy.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from home play with remarkable ease.

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

Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored 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 half a decade, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter won a trio of times, in the early 2000s.

'A Gracious Competitor': His Enduring Personality

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded.

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

"When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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

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

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas dropped significantly.

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

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

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

Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later

Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all."

Although 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 forever linked, starts later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

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