'He brought laughter': Reflecting on the sport's departed star 20 years on.

All Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker.

A love for the game, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a professional career that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.

Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But notwithstanding the loss of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the sport and those who knew him remain as powerful today.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

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

"But he just adored it."

His dad remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a child.

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

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from table top snooker with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue 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 "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never deserted him.

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

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his natural likability, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

In 2005, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple stories from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

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

The charity in his name, 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, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply.

"The idea was for a platform to help get kids off the street," one official said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children globally.

"Paul would have loved 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

Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube 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 mention him than him not be spoken of."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is etched into the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

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