'He brought laughter': Honoring snooker's lost great two decades on.

All Paul Hunter truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a professional career that saw him claim six major trophies in a six-year span.

This year marks 20 years since the popular Hunter died from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the tragic departure of a generational talent that rose above the game he loved, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career endure as powerful today.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a lifetime Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter recalls.

"But he just loved it."

Hunter's father remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a child.

"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 young Hunter made the transition from home play with remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Quick Success: The Path to Glory

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their still-teenage 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 exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."

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

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

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new millennium.

No wonder then, that he was christened 'A Sporting Icon'.

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In 2005, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple stories from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception 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: Giving Back

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles 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 program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted.

"The goal was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said.

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

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

Always Remembered: 20 Years Later

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

"I can watch it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!"

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.