'He brought laughter': Honoring the sport's departed star two decades on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, caught 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 result in a professional career that saw him claim six major trophies in six years.

This year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the loss of a generational talent that rose above the game he loved, his influence and memory on the sport and those who knew him remain as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a billion years the boy would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum says.

"But he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter remembers how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

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

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from miniature games with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their young son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of elite players only, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in the early 2000s.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

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

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, 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, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

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

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

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete 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 family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

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

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted.

"The goal was for a program 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 globally.

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

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's folklore.

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

But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.