'Paul was fun': Reflecting on the sport's taken talent two decades on.

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

A competitive passion, developed at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him win six major trophies in a six-year span.

Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the game he loved, his enduring mark on the sport and those who followed his career persist as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother recalls.

"However he just was passionate about it."

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

"His dedication was constant," he notes. "He practiced every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from table top snooker with great skill.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework regularly going unheeded 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 five years, their still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

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

'A Gracious Competitor': A Legacy of Character

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: His Final Years

In that year, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on 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 passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities.

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

A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to children all over the country.

The scheme 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 coach said.

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

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

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

Historic matches of their son's matches online 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 marvellous!"

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's folklore.

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 brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.