'He brought laughter': Honoring the game's departed star 20 years on.

All Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, developed 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 result in a professional career that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

The present year marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the game he loved, his influence and memory on the sport and those who followed his career persist as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

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

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

"His dedication was constant," he adds. "He competed every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from home play with aplomb.

His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the snooker legend 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 practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on carving out a career in the game.

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

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

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

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

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

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

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

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child."

An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth

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 free snooker sessions to children all over the country.

The program was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas dropped significantly.

"The aim remained for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children globally.

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

Never Forgotten: Two Decades On

Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him".

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

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

Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

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