'He brought laughter': Reflecting on the sport's taken talent a score of years on.

All Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, caught at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would culminate in a professional career that saw him claim six major trophies in half a dozen years.

This year marks two decades since the adored Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But notwithstanding the passing of a generational talent that went beyond the sport he adored, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who knew him remain as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a billion years our son would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum states.

"However he just was passionate about it."

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

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

After successfully badgering 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 transition from miniature games with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to carving out a career in the game.

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

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious three times, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

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. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

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

With his easy charm, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

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

Multiple stories from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to keep promises to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

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

"It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back

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

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a platform to help offer a constructive activity," one official said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world.

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

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

Classic footage of their son's matches online help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she continues. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion 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 forever linked, starts later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his achievements, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.