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

All the young snooker player truly desired to do was practice the game.

A sporting bug, sparked at the very young 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 win six major trophies in half a dozen years.

Now marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the game and those who were close to him endure as powerful today.

'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession

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

"However he just adored it."

Hunter's father recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

"He was relentless," he says. "He practiced every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with 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 table top snooker with aplomb.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within a short period, their young son had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter won on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him.

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

"When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

In that year, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

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

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on 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 October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in high society but in community venues across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

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

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

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally.

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

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him".

"I can bring it up and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!"

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of."

Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's legend.

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

But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.