'He brought laughter': Honoring the sport's departed star 20 years on.

All Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, sparked at the very young 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 major trophies in six years.

The present year marks two decades since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But in spite of the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the game he loved, his influence and memory on the sport and those who followed his career endure as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

"We could not have predicted in a billion years our son would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum recalls.

"However he just adored it."

Alan Hunter recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from home play with aplomb.

His raw skill would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open.

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

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

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

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Beckham of the Baize'.

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple accounts from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he died in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in royal circles but in community venues across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country.

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

"The idea was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally.

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

Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later

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 whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!"

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of."

While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's history.

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

But for all his achievements, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.