'He brought laughter': Honoring the sport's departed star a score of years on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him win six major trophies in half a dozen years.

This year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the tragic departure of a generational talent that rose above the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who followed his career remain as powerful today.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a lifetime the boy would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum states.

"Yet he just loved it."

His dad recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

"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 full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from miniature games with aplomb.

His natural ability would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on carving out a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

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

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

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

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new millennium.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

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

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

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.

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

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true impact 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 children all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted.

"The aim remained for a platform to help offer a constructive activity," one official said.

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

"He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: 20 Years Later

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

"I can watch it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled."

While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's folklore.

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 achievements, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.