'Paul was fun': Reflecting on snooker's taken talent two decades on.

All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was practice the game.

A sporting bug, caught at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would result in a life on the tour that saw him secure six significant titles in six years.

This year marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.

But in spite of the loss of a generational talent that transcended the game he loved, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career persist as strong as ever.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

"We'd never have known in a billion years the boy would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter states.

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

His mercurial talent would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Gracious Competitor': A Legacy of Character

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 connected with everybody."

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his easy charm, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

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

Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple stories from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to keep promises to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete 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 passed away in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in high society but in community venues across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country.

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas fell sharply.

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

The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children all over the world.

"Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated.

Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later

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

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is etched into the sport's legend.

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

But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.