'He brought laughter': Honoring the game's departed star a score of years on.

Everything the young snooker player truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A sporting bug, sparked at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him secure six major trophies in six years.

Now marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the game he loved, his enduring mark on snooker and those who were close to him remain as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

"We'd never have known in a million years Paul would become a professional snooker player," his mother states.

"But he just was passionate about it."

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

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

After repeatedly pleading with 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 transition from table top snooker with remarkable ease.

His raw skill 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.

Quick Success: The Path to Glory

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on carving out a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in consecutive years.

'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue

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

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In 2005, a year that should have been the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple accounts from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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

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

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas fell sharply.

"The idea was for a platform to help get kids off the street," one coach said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally.

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

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

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 don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore.

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

But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.