'He brought laughter': Honoring snooker's taken talent two decades on.

All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was play snooker.

A sporting bug, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him win half a dozen major wins in six years.

The present year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the game and those who followed his career persist as powerful today.

'The game was his life': The Formative Years

"We'd never have known in a lifetime the boy would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter says.

"But he just was passionate about it."

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

"His dedication was constant," he says. "He would play every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from home play with great skill.

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 area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion

With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of elite players only, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in the early 2000s.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded.

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple accounts from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in October 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."

An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles 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, local youth crime rates 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 significant coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children all over the world.

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

Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later

Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's folklore.

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