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

Everything Paul Hunter ever wanted 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 family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him secure six significant titles in half a dozen years.

This year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that rose above the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the game and those who followed his career endure as powerful today.

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years the boy would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter states.

"But he just adored it."

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

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from miniature games with aplomb.

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

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

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

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him.

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

"When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "funny, kind" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple stories from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment.

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

When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members.

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

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK.

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

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted.

"The goal was for a scheme 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 senior official in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: 20 Years Later

Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him 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 top honor is a part of the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, starts later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

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