'He brought laughter': Remembering snooker's taken talent two decades on.

All Paul Hunter truly desired to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him secure six significant titles in a six-year span.

The present year marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the game and those who knew him remain as powerful today.

'His passion was clear': The Formative Years

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

"But he just loved it."

His dad recounts how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a youth.

"He was relentless," he says. "He practiced 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 transition from home play with remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment 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 "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to carving out a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

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

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

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

With his easy charm, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have marked the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple anecdotes from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to keep promises to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

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

An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country.

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas dropped significantly.

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

The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children all over the world.

"Paul would have loved 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 on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy.

But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.