'He was a joy': Reflecting on the sport's departed star 20 years on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was compete on the baize.

A competitive passion, sparked at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him win six significant titles in six years.

This year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But in spite of the loss of a phenomenal skill that rose above the sport he adored, his enduring mark on snooker and those who knew him endure as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"We could not have predicted in a lifetime our son would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter says.

"Yet he just loved it."

His dad recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a youth.

"His dedication was constant," he adds. "He would play every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from table top snooker with aplomb.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby 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 regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on carving out a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of elite players only, Hunter won three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never left him.

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

"When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

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

With his natural likability, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century.

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

Facing Adversity: His Final Years

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple stories from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

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

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to young people all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a program to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world.

"It would have thrilled him 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 online help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be recalled."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's history.

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 successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.