'Paul was fun': Remembering snooker's taken talent two decades on.

All the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him secure six major trophies in half a dozen years.

Now marks two decades since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But despite the passing of a generational talent that went beyond the game he loved, his influence and memory on the game and those who followed his career remain as powerful today.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

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

"Yet he just adored it."

Hunter's father remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a child.

"He never stopped," he adds. "He practiced every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from table top snooker with remarkable ease.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: The Path to Glory

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never faded.

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

"If you met 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 "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: His Final Years

In 2005, a year that should have been the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to youths 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 scheme to help get kids off the street," one coach said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge 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 senior official in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

Archive videos of their son's matches online help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"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."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, starts later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.