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

Everything the young snooker player truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, caught at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in a six-year span.

Now marks a score of years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the sport and those who knew him endure as strong as ever.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

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

"However he just adored it."

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

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from table top snooker with aplomb.

His natural ability would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

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 connected with everybody."

"If you met him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed."

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

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

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

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue 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 most popular brothers.

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

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

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

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to youths all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge 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 senior official in the sport stated.

Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later

Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she concludes. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all."

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

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

But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.