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

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

A competitive passion, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him secure six major trophies in a six-year span.

This year marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the sport and those who were close to him endure as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

"We could not have predicted in a billion years Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum recalls.

"Yet he just adored it."

His dad recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from home play with great skill.

His natural ability would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: The Path to Glory

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their young son had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter was victorious three times, in consecutive years.

'A Gracious Competitor': His Enduring Personality

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."

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's widow 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 effortless appeal, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In 2005, a year that should have been the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple accounts from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on 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 succumbed in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit 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."

A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

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

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted.

"The idea was for a platform to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally.

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

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

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

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

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

Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, starts later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.