'Paul was fun': Remembering snooker's taken talent 20 years on.

All the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was practice the game.

A competitive passion, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would lead to a professional career that saw him win six major trophies in half a dozen years.

This year marks two decades since the popular Hunter died from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.

But notwithstanding the passing of a generational talent that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on snooker and those who knew him remain as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter states.

"But he just loved it."

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

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from home play with great skill.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their adolescent 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 only the top competitors, Hunter won a trio of times, in the early 2000s.

'A Gracious Competitor': His Enduring Personality

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

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

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

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century.

No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Beckham of the Baize'.

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

In that year, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple stories from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to keep promises to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in local sports centers across the UK.

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

The program was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas dropped significantly.

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

The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children globally.

"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 "connected to him".

"I can watch it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all."

While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore.

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

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