'He was a joy': Reflecting on the game's departed star two decades on.

Everything the young snooker player always wished to do was compete on the baize.

A sporting bug, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a professional career that saw him claim six significant titles in six years.

Now marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.

But in spite of the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the sport he adored, his legacy and impact on the game and those who were close to him persist as vibrant now.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a lifetime our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother states.

"But he just adored it."

Hunter's father recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a youth.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from table top snooker with remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

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

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

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

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."

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

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new millennium.

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

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

In the mid-2000s, 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 professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, 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 October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back

Hunter's true legacy 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, local youth crime rates in some areas fell sharply.

"The idea was for a platform to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said.

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

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

Always Remembered: 20 Years Later

Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet 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 adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor 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 achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.