'He brought laughter': Honoring the sport's taken talent a score of years on.

All the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years.

Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.

But notwithstanding the passing of a generational talent that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on snooker and those who knew him endure as powerful today.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

"We could not have predicted in a lifetime the boy would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter says.

"But he just was passionate about it."

His dad recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a child.

"He was relentless," he notes. "He would play every night after school."

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

His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter won three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Gracious Competitor': His Enduring Personality

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never faded.

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed."

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 easy charm, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

In that year, a year that should have marked the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The World Championship arena when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he died in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to youths all over the country.

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas fell sharply.

"The goal was for a platform to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children globally.

"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: 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 at any moment," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is etched into the sport's legend.

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

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