'He brought laughter': Remembering the game's taken talent 20 years on.

All Paul Hunter always wished to do was practice the game.

A competitive passion, sparked at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him claim six significant titles in a six-year span.

This year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But notwithstanding the passing of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career persist as powerful today.

'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime the boy would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum says.

"Yet he just loved it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a child.

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from home play with great skill.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Quick Success: The Path to Glory

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of elite players only, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

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

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

"If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his easy charm, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In 2005, a year that should have been the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

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

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

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

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in royal circles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to children all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said.

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

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

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

Historic matches 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 a comfort!"

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

While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's folklore.

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

But for all his successes, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.