'He brought laughter': Remembering the game's departed star 20 years on.

Everything Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was practice the game.

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 pro playing days that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.

The present year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the game and those who knew him persist as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

"We could not have predicted in a million years Paul would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum states.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

His dad recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a child.

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

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from home play with aplomb.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now closed venue in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'A Gracious Competitor': A Legacy of Character

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

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you feel at ease."

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

With his natural likability, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.

No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'.

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

In 2005, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations 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 tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he died in October 2006, 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 suffer such a loss."

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

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

The foundation he inspired, 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 fell sharply.

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

The Foundation helped establish the basis 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 leading figure in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's history.

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

But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.