'Paul was fun': Reflecting on the game's taken talent 20 years on.

Everything the young snooker player truly desired to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, caught at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a professional career that saw him secure six major trophies in a six-year span.

This year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But notwithstanding the passing of a generational talent that rose above the sport he adored, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career persist as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a billion years Paul would become a professional snooker player," his mother states.

"Yet he just loved it."

Alan Hunter recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

"His dedication was constant," he says. "He competed every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from miniature games with great skill.

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

Quick Success: The Path to Glory

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to carving out a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter won three times, in consecutive years.

'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 got on with everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. 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 "funny, kind" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his natural likability, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple stories from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in local sports centers 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 dropped significantly.

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

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a huge 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 leading figure in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

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

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

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

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's legend.

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

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