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

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

A competitive passion, caught at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him secure six significant titles in a six-year span.

Now marks a score of years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that rose above the game he loved, his enduring mark on the sport and those who followed his career persist as powerful today.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a million years the boy would become a professional snooker player," his mother says.

"However he just was passionate about it."

His dad recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a young boy.

"His dedication was constant," he says. "He practiced every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from home play with aplomb.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory

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 mid-teens to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within a short period, their young son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won three times, in consecutive years.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never left him.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to keep promises to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles but in community venues across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country.

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

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

The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has provided 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: Two Decades On

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 wonderful!"

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

Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's legend.

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

But for all his successes, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.