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

Everything the young snooker player always wished to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in Leeds, would result in a life on the tour that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.

Now marks two decades since the adored Hunter died from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the tragic departure of a generational talent that transcended the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on snooker and those who followed his career endure as powerful today.

'The game was his life': The Formative Years

"We could not have predicted in a billion years the boy would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum recalls.

"However he just adored it."

His dad recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a youth.

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

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from table top snooker with aplomb.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion

With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "risk" 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 half a decade, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years.

'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue

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

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. 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 "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at 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 christened 'A Sporting Icon'.

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple accounts from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to young people all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly.

"The idea was for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one official said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has opened up 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 via the internet help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his successes, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.