'Paul was fun': Remembering the sport's taken talent two decades on.
Everything the young snooker player ever wanted to do was play snooker.
A love for the game, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him win half a dozen major wins in six years.
The present year marks two decades since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.
But in spite of the tragic departure of a generational talent that transcended the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career remain as vibrant now.
'The game was his life': Early Beginnings
"We'd never have known in a billion years our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother states.
"But he just loved it."
Hunter's father recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.
"He never stopped," he adds. "He competed every night after school."
After persistently asking his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from home play with great skill.
His raw skill would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.
Rapid Rise: A Star is Born
With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.
It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open.
Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.
'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character
But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never left him.
"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."
"When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."
Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party".
With his natural likability, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.
No wonder then, that he was christened 'A Sporting Icon'.
Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience
In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.
Multiple anecdotes from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment.
Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.
When he died in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.
"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child."
A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth
Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK.
The charity in his name, 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, issues with young people in some areas fell sharply.
"The goal was for a scheme to help get kids off the street," one official said.
The Foundation helped pave the way 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 chairman in the sport stated.
Always Remembered: Two Decades On
Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".
"I can access it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!"
"We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."
Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's history.
The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.
But for all his achievements, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.
