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

Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A sporting bug, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

The present year marks two decades since the popular Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a generational talent that rose above the game he loved, his enduring mark on the game and those who knew him remain as powerful today.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a billion years Paul would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter says.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a youth.

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

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from miniature games with remarkable ease.

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

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Gracious Competitor': 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 connected with everybody."

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, 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 died in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in high society but in community venues across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to youths all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said.

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

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

Forever in Memory: Two Decades On

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

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's legend.

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

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