All Paul Hunter always wished to do was compete on the baize.
A love for the game, developed at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him win six major trophies in six years.
Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday.
But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on snooker and those who were close to him endure as vibrant now.
"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime our son would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum states.
"Yet he just loved it."
His dad remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a youth.
"He never stopped," he adds. "He practiced every night after school."
After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from home play with great skill.
His mercurial talent would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.
With his mother and father's requests to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game.
It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the 1998 Welsh Open.
Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.
But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never deserted him.
"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."
"When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."
Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party".
With his natural likability, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.
No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'A Sporting Icon'.
In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.
Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to keep promises to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.
Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year.
When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.
"It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child."
Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society 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 initiative was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas fell sharply.
"The goal was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said.
The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children globally.
"It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated.
Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".
"I can watch it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!"
"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."
Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's history.
The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, commences 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 spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.
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