'He brought laughter': Remembering the game's taken talent a score of years on.

Everything Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was practice the game.

A sporting bug, caught at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him secure six significant titles in a six-year span.

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

But despite the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the game he loved, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who knew him endure as powerful today.

'His passion was clear': The Formative Years

"We'd never have known in a million years the boy would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter says.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

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

"He was relentless," he adds. "He practiced every night after school."

After persistently asking 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 leap from miniature games with aplomb.

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

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

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

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter was victorious three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

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

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

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

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era.

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

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

In 2005, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities.

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

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true legacy 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, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted.

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

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

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

Never Forgotten: Two Decades On

Archive videos of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, 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 etched into the sport's history.

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 achievements, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.