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

Everything the young snooker player truly desired to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him claim six major trophies in six years.

This year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But despite the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that rose above the game he loved, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who knew him endure as vibrant now.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a million years Paul would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter recalls.

"But he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter remembers how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

"He never stopped," he says. "He competed every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from home play with aplomb.

His raw skill would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion

With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their still-teenage 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 involvement of elite players only, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in consecutive years.

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

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

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

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

Hunter's partner 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 effortless appeal, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.

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

Facing Adversity: His Final Years

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete 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 died 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 Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in local sports centers across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country.

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply.

"The aim remained for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.

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

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

Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later

Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is etched into the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, 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 spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.