'Paul was fun': Remembering the sport's departed star 20 years on.

All 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 small snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him claim six major trophies in half a dozen years.

This year marks two decades since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the sport and those who knew him endure as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"We'd never have known in a lifetime the boy would become a pro on the circuit," his mother says.

"Yet he just adored it."

His dad remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a youth.

"He was relentless," he says. "He competed every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from table top snooker with remarkable ease.

His natural ability would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never deserted him.

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his natural likability, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, 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 Beckham of the Baize'.

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to children all over the country.

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted.

"The idea was for a platform to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a major 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 chairman in the sport stated.

Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later

Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "connected to him".

"I can bring it up and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's folklore.

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 spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.