'He brought laughter': Reflecting on the game's lost great two decades on.
Everything Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker.
A love for the game, caught at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him win half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.
The present year marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years.
But despite the loss of a generational talent that rose above the game he loved, his influence and memory on the sport and those who were close to him remain as vibrant now.
'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings
"We'd never have known in a lifetime our son would become a pro on the circuit," his mother says.
"Yet he just adored it."
His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.
"His dedication was constant," he notes. "He competed every night after school."
After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from miniature games with great skill.
His mercurial talent would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.
Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory
With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to carving out a career in the game.
It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.
Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter won three times, in consecutive years.
'A Gracious Competitor': A Legacy of Character
But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded.
"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."
"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease."
Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party".
With his natural likability, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century.
No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'A Sporting Icon'.
Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer
In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.
Multiple accounts from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to keep promises to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.
Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on 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 close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.
"It's awful," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child."
A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back
Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK.
The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country.
The program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly.
"The aim remained for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said.
The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major coaching programme, which has opened up 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.
Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later
Classic footage of their son's matches online help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".
"I can access it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"
"We like to reminisce about Paul," she concludes. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of."
Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's folklore.
The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.
But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is never forgotten.
