'He brought laughter': Reflecting on the sport's lost great 20 years on.
All the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was play snooker.
A love for the game, developed at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him win six major trophies in a six-year span.
The present year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.
But despite the loss of a generational talent that rose above the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career remain as powerful today.
'He just loved it': Early Beginnings
"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime Paul would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum states.
"Yet he just adored it."
His dad remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.
"His dedication was constant," he says. "He practiced every night after school."
After repeatedly pleading with 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 leap from table top snooker with great skill.
His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.
Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory
With his family's urging 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 dedicate himself to carving out a career in the game.
It proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the late-nineties Welsh championship.
Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious three times, in consecutive years.
'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character
But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him.
"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."
"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."
Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party".
With his effortless appeal, handsome features 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 'A Sporting Icon'.
A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer
In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.
Multiple accounts from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment.
Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year.
When he died in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.
"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child."
A Lasting Impact: Giving Back
Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.
The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to young people all over the country.
The program was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted.
"The idea was for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.
The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world.
"Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated.
Never Forgotten: Two Decades On
Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him".
"I can bring it up and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"
"We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be recalled."
Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is etched into the sport's legend.
The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, 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 forever celebrated.
