'He was a joy': Remembering snooker's lost great two decades on.

Everything the young snooker player ever wanted to do was practice the game.

A sporting bug, developed at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would result in a professional career that saw him claim six significant titles in a six-year span.

Now marks two decades since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the sport and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a billion years the boy would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum says.

"However he just adored it."

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

"He never stopped," he notes. "He practiced every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from table top snooker with great skill.

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

Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion

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

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never left him.

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

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his natural likability, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century.

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

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

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

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he died in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles but in community venues across the UK.

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

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

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

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

"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: 20 Years Later

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

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore.

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

But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.