'He brought laughter': Honoring snooker's lost great a score of years on.

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

A sporting bug, caught 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 lead to a life on the tour that saw him secure six major trophies in six years.

This year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the passing of a generational talent that rose above the sport he adored, his influence and memory on snooker and those who were close to him remain as powerful today.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime our son would become a career sportsman," his mother recalls.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

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

"His dedication was constant," he notes. "He would play 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 budding player made the transition from home play with great skill.

His natural ability would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

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

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

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

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his natural likability, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

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

Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, 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, local youth crime rates in some areas fell sharply.

"The aim remained for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one official said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children internationally.

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

Never Forgotten: Two Decades On

Archive videos of their son's matches online help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

"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. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be recalled."

Even though 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 folklore.

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

But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is never forgotten.