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

All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was compete on the baize.

A sporting bug, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would lead to a professional career that saw him win six major trophies in half a dozen years.

Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a generational talent that rose above the game he loved, his influence and memory on the sport and those who followed his career endure as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': The Formative Years

"We'd never have known in a billion years our son would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter recalls.

"But he just loved it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a child.

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from miniature games with aplomb.

His raw skill would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district 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 "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

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

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."

"When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his natural likability, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

In that year, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

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

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

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

"The idea was for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.

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

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

Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later

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

"I can bring it up and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's legend.

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

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