'Paul was fun': Honoring snooker's taken talent a score of years on.

Everything the young snooker player truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, sparked at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him secure six major trophies in six years.

This year marks 20 years since the popular Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But despite the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the game and those who were close to him endure as powerful today.

'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession

"We could not have predicted in a lifetime our son would become a career sportsman," his mother says.

"However he just was passionate about it."

Hunter's father remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a child.

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

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from home play with remarkable ease.

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

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, 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 paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their still-teenage 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 only the top competitors, Hunter won on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him.

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

"If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: His Final Years

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple accounts from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena 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 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: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact 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 no-cost coaching to youths all over the country.

The program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly.

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

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally.

"He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

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

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, starts 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 always remembered.