'He brought laughter': Reflecting on the sport's taken talent a score of years on.
Everything the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was play snooker.
A competitive passion, sparked 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 result in a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in half a dozen years.
The present year marks 20 years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.
But despite the passing of a generational talent that went beyond the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the game and those who knew him endure as strong as ever.
'He just loved it': Early Beginnings
"It was impossible to foresee in a million years the boy would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum states.
"Yet he just adored it."
Hunter's father remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a child.
"He was relentless," he notes. "He would play every night after school."
After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from home play with great skill.
His natural ability would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.
Quick Success: The Path to Glory
With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.
It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their young son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship.
Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter won on three occasions, in consecutive years.
'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.
"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."
"If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."
Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".
With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.
No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Beckham of the Baize'.
A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience
In 2005, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.
Multiple stories from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment.
Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.
When he died in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members.
"It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child."
An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back
Hunter's true impact would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK.
The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to young people all over the country.
The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted.
"The aim remained for a scheme to help get kids off the street," one coach said.
The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children globally.
"He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated.
Never Forgotten: Two Decades On
Classic footage of their son's matches online help his parents stay "close to him".
"I can watch it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"
"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."
While 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, starts later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.
But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.
