'He brought laughter': Honoring the sport's lost great a score of years on.

All Paul Hunter always wished to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a professional career that saw him claim six major trophies in a six-year span.

Now marks two decades since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the loss of a generational talent that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on the game and those who were close to him remain as powerful today.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a million years our son would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum says.

"However he just was passionate about it."

Hunter's father recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a youth.

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from miniature games with aplomb.

His natural ability would be coached by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

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

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

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you feel at ease."

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

With his natural likability, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era.

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

Courage in Crisis: His Final Years

In 2005, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple stories from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

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

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

"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 legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK.

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

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

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

The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge 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 leading figure in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk 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 greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's history.

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

But for all his achievements, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.