'He brought laughter': Honoring the sport's lost great 20 years on.

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

A competitive passion, sparked at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in six years.

This year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years.

But notwithstanding the passing of a phenomenal skill that rose above the game he loved, his enduring mark on the sport and those who followed his career endure as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a million years the boy would become a career sportsman," his mother recalls.

"However he just adored it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a youth.

"He was relentless," he says. "He competed 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 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 Leeds district of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "risk" 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 a short period, their still-teenage son had won his first ranking title, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter won on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

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

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

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

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

With his natural likability, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In that year, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

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

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to young people all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said.

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

"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: Two Decades On

Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's legend.

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

But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.