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

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

A competitive passion, sparked at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.

This year marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But despite the tragic departure of a generational talent that went beyond the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the sport and those who were close to him persist as strong as ever.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

"We'd never have known in a million years Paul would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum recalls.

"Yet he just loved it."

His dad recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a youth.

"He was relentless," he adds. "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 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 defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in the early 2000s.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

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

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

"If you met him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

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

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he died in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities.

"The pain is immense," 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 legacy 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 free snooker sessions to youths all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted.

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

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children globally.

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

Never Forgotten: Two Decades On

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

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all."

While he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is etched into the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.