'He was a joy': Reflecting on snooker's departed star a score of years on.

All Paul Hunter truly desired to do was play snooker.

A sporting bug, caught at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in a six-year span.

The present year marks 20 years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.

But despite the loss of a phenomenal skill that rose above the game he loved, his enduring mark on snooker and those who were close to him remain as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years Paul would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum recalls.

"Yet he just adored it."

His dad recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for 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 nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from table top snooker with aplomb.

His natural ability would be coached by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb 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 "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on building a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of elite players only, Hunter was victorious three times, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never faded.

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: His Final Years

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple stories from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

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

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

A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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

The foundation he inspired, 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, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply.

"The idea was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one official said.

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

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

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

Archive videos of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

"I can bring it up and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is a part of 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, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.