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

All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was practice the game.

A sporting bug, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him claim six significant titles in six years.

Now marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that rose above the game he loved, his enduring mark on the game and those who were close to him endure as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime our son would become a pro on the circuit," his mother says.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a youth.

"His dedication was constant," 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 budding player made the transition from home play with aplomb.

His raw skill would be coached by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion

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

It paid off in spades. Within five years, 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 lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter won on three occasions, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded.

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

"If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new millennium.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple stories from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

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

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to children all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one official said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally.

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

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

Archive videos of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

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

While he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's history.

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 achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.