'He was a joy': Honoring the sport's taken talent a score of years on.

Everything the young snooker player truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A sporting bug, sparked at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years.

The present year marks two decades since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the tragic departure of a generational talent that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who were close to him remain as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"We could not have predicted in a million years the boy would become a professional snooker player," his mother says.

"However he just was passionate about it."

Hunter's father remembers 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 successfully badgering his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from home play with aplomb.

His raw skill would be coached by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their young 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 was victorious on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

But for all his triumphs in the sport, 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."

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

In that year, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he played at 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. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, 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 fell sharply.

"The goal was for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one official said.

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

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

Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later

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

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

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

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.