Everything the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was compete on the baize.
A sporting bug, caught at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in the city of Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him claim six significant titles in six years.
The present year marks a score of years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.
But in spite of the passing of a generational talent that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the sport and those who knew him persist as powerful today.
"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime Paul would become a career sportsman," his mother recalls.
"However he just loved it."
Hunter's father recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a child.
"He was relentless," he says. "He competed every night after school."
After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from miniature games with great skill.
His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.
With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully dedicate himself to carving out a career in the game.
It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their still-teenage son had won his first ranking title, the 1998 Welsh Open.
Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.
But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him.
"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."
"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. 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 "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party".
With his natural likability, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.
No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'.
In that year, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, 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 honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment.
Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year.
When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers.
"It's awful," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."
Hunter's true impact would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers across the UK.
The Paul Hunter Foundation, 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, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly.
"The aim remained for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said.
The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally.
"Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated.
Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him".
"I can access it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!"
"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be recalled."
Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore.
The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.
But for all his achievements, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.
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