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

Everything Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was practice the game.

A competitive passion, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him claim six significant titles in a six-year span.

The present year marks a score of years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But in spite of the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the game he loved, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career remain as powerful today.

'The game was his life': The Formative Years

"We'd never have known in a million years our son would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum states.

"Yet he just adored it."

Hunter's father recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from home play with remarkable ease.

His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years.

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded.

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

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era.

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

Courage in Crisis: His Final Years

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

Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to keep promises to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, 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 competed in the World Championships that year.

When he died in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

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

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country.

The program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted.

"The idea was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one official said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a significant coaching programme, which has provided 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 senior official in the sport stated.

Forever in Memory: Two Decades On

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

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "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 greatest prize is etched into the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy.

But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.