'He brought laughter': Reflecting on the sport's lost great 20 years on.

Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was play snooker.

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

Now marks a score of years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the loss of a generational talent that rose above the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who were close to him remain as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime Paul would become a career sportsman," his mother says.

"But he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a youth.

"He never stopped," he notes. "He competed every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from table top snooker with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their young son had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of elite players only, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Gracious Competitor': His Enduring Personality

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

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

"If you met him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

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

When he died in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members.

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

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to youths all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a program to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has opened up 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 leading figure in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

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

"I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be recalled."

While he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore.

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

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