'He was a joy': Honoring the sport's lost great 20 years on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was play snooker.

A love for the game, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.

Now marks 20 years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the sport he adored, his enduring mark on snooker and those who knew him remain as powerful today.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter says.

"However he just was passionate about it."

His dad recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a child.

"He was relentless," he notes. "He competed every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from miniature games with aplomb.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

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

Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to keep promises to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK.

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

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas dropped significantly.

"The aim remained for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one official said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children all over the world.

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

Forever in Memory: Two Decades On

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

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.