'He brought laughter': Honoring the game's lost great two decades on.

Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would result in a pro playing days that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

The present year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the game he loved, his enduring mark on snooker and those who were close to him endure as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a billion years our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother recalls.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a youth.

"He was relentless," he adds. "He would play every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from table top snooker with remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion

With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

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

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his natural likability, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.

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

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

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

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

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

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

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's history.

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, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.