'He brought laughter': Remembering the sport's departed star two decades on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was play snooker.

A sporting bug, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

The present year marks two decades since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the sport he adored, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"We'd never have known in a billion years Paul would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum states.

"However he just loved it."

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

"His dedication was constant," he notes. "He practiced every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from miniature games with great skill.

His raw skill would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas 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 concentrate on building a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "humorous, caring" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

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

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, 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 competed in the World Championships that year.

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

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true legacy 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 young people all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a scheme to help get kids off the street," one coach said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children internationally.

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

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube 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 are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's history.

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

But for all his successes, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.