'He was a joy': Reflecting on the game's taken talent 20 years on.

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

A competitive passion, developed at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him claim six major trophies in six years.

The present year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the loss of a generational talent that transcended the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the sport and those who followed his career remain as powerful today.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum says.

"However he just adored it."

His dad remembers how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

"He never stopped," he says. "He competed every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from miniature games with remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on carving out a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded.

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

"Upon meeting him you'd take to 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 "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In that year, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple accounts from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to keep promises to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers across the UK.

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

The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas dropped significantly.

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

The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children globally.

"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: A Lasting Presence

Archive videos of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she continues. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's folklore.

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

But for all his achievements, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.