'He was a joy': Reflecting on the game's taken talent two decades on.

All the young snooker player always wished to do was play snooker.

A sporting bug, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him claim six significant titles in six years.

The present year marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career endure as powerful today.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a billion years the boy would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter says.

"However he just was passionate about it."

Hunter's father recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from table top snooker with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, 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 paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their young son had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him.

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his natural likability, boyish good looks and honest interview style, 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'.

Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience

In that year, a year that should have been the peak of his powers, 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 keep promises to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true contribution 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 free snooker sessions to youths 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 program to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major coaching programme, which has extended 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: 20 Years Later

Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled."

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

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.