'He brought laughter': Reflecting on snooker's lost great a score of years on.

Everything Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker.

A sporting bug, sparked at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him win six significant titles in a six-year span.

Now marks two decades since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But notwithstanding the loss of a generational talent that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the game and those who followed his career endure as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a million years our son would become a pro on the circuit," his mother says.

"But he just adored it."

Alan Hunter remembers how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a youth.

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from miniature games with remarkable ease.

His natural ability would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within five years, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

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

"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 relaxed."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his natural likability, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

Courage in Crisis: His Final Years

In 2005, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment.

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

When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.

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

A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth

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

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

The program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted.

"The goal was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant 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 senior official in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

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

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's legend.

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

But for all his successes, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.