'He brought laughter': Reflecting on the sport's taken talent two decades on.

All the young snooker player ever wanted to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, caught at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a professional career that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

The present year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.

But in spite of the loss of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the game he loved, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career persist as powerful today.

'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession

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

"But he just loved it."

Alan Hunter remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

"His dedication was constant," he notes. "He would play every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from home play with aplomb.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the snooker legend 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 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 concentrate on forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his first ranking title, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue

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

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

"When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "funny, kind" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

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

Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to keep promises 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 played at the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues 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 scheme was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly.

"The goal was for a scheme to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has extended 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 chairman in the sport stated.

Forever in Memory: Two Decades On

Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet 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 marvellous!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.