'He was a joy': Reflecting on the game's departed star two decades on.

Everything the young snooker player ever wanted to do was compete on the baize.

A sporting bug, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would result in a pro playing days that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in six years.

This year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But notwithstanding the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a billion years our son would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum says.

"But he just was passionate about it."

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

"His dedication was constant," he says. "He would play 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 jump from home play with great skill.

His natural ability would be developed by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him.

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his easy charm, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'.

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In 2005, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he died in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a program to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children all over the world.

"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: A Lasting Presence

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

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, starts later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.