'Paul was fun': Reflecting on the game's lost great two decades on.
All the young snooker player truly desired to do was compete on the baize.
A sporting bug, developed at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a professional career that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.
This year marks two decades since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.
But despite the loss of a generational talent that rose above the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who followed his career endure as strong as ever.
'The game was his life': Early Beginnings
"We could not have predicted in a lifetime our son would become a pro on the circuit," his mother says.
"However he just adored it."
His dad recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a youth.
"He was relentless," he adds. "He practiced every night after school."
After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from home play with aplomb.
His natural ability would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon.
Quick Success: The Path to Glory
With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game.
It was a resounding success. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.
Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.
'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality
But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him.
"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."
"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease."
Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party".
With his easy charm, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century.
No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Beckham of the Baize'.
Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer
In that year, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.
Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to keep promises 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 Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year.
When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members.
"It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain."
An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation
Hunter's true legacy 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, local youth crime rates in some areas fell sharply.
"The aim remained for a scheme to help get kids off the street," one coach said.
The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant 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 leading figure in the sport stated.
Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence
Archive videos 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 a comfort!"
"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all."
Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's history.
The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.
But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
