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

All Paul Hunter truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win six major trophies in half a dozen years.

The present year marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the tragic departure of a generational talent that rose above the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the game and those who were close to him persist as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a billion years the boy would become a career sportsman," his mother recalls.

"But he just loved it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a youth.

"He never stopped," he adds. "He competed every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from table top snooker with remarkable ease.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment 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 "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their young son had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of elite players only, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded.

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

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

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

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks 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'.

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple accounts from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for 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. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact 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 youths all over the country.

The program was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas fell sharply.

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

The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally.

"It would have thrilled him 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

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

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's legend.

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

But for all his achievements, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.