'Paul was fun': Reflecting on snooker's departed star 20 years on.

Everything the young snooker player always wished to do was practice the game.

A competitive passion, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a professional career that saw him win six major trophies in half a dozen years.

The present year marks two decades since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But notwithstanding the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the game and those who were close to him remain as strong as ever.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother recalls.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a child.

"He never stopped," he notes. "He competed every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from table top snooker with great skill.

His natural ability would be developed by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never faded.

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his easy charm, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, 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: Illness and Resilience

In that year, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple stories 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 gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he turned out for 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 go through that pain."

An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas dropped significantly.

"The aim remained for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally.

"It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later

Archive videos of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "close to him".

"I can watch it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!"

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy.

But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.