'Paul was fun': Remembering snooker's departed star two decades on.

Everything 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 tiny snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years.

This year marks 20 years since the adored 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 went beyond the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career remain as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a million years the boy would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum says.

"Yet he just adored it."

Alan Hunter remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

"He never stopped," he notes. "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 young Hunter made the transition from table top snooker with remarkable ease.

His natural ability would be developed by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears 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 proved a masterstroke. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his first ranking title, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter won on three occasions, in the early 2000s.

'A Gracious Competitor': A Legacy of Character

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him.

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his easy charm, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have marked the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he died in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in royal circles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to children all over the country.

The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted.

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

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally.

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

Never Forgotten: Two Decades On

Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's history.

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 successes, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.