'He brought laughter': Reflecting on snooker's departed star two decades on.

All Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.

The present year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that rose above the sport he adored, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career endure as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a million years Paul would become a pro on the circuit," his mother states.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

His dad recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a child.

"He was relentless," he says. "He would play every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from miniature games with remarkable ease.

His natural ability would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now closed venue in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter won a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

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

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

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

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

With his easy charm, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: His Final Years

In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

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

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

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers.

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

An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth

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

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide accessible training 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 idea was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one official 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 senior official in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: 20 Years Later

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

"I can watch it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!"

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, starts later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy.

But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.