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

All the young snooker player always wished to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him secure six significant titles in six years.

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

But despite the loss of a phenomenal skill that rose above the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on the game and those who followed his career persist as vibrant now.

'The game was his life': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a billion years Paul would become a pro on the circuit," his mother recalls.

"However he just loved it."

Alan Hunter remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a young boy.

"He never stopped," he adds. "He practiced every night after school."

After persistently asking 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 leap from table top snooker with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within a short period, their young son had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

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

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

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

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

In that year, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation 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.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

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

"The idea was for a program to help get kids off the street," one official said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children internationally.

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

Forever in Memory: Two Decades On

Classic footage of their son's matches online help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "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 highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's history.

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

But for all his successes, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.