'He was a joy': Remembering the sport's departed star two decades on.

All the young snooker player always wished to do was play snooker.

A love for the game, sparked at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him win six major trophies in six years.

The present year marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the sport and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a million years Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum states.

"However he just was passionate about it."

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

"His dedication was constant," he says. "He practiced 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 budding player made the leap from miniature games with remarkable ease.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Quick Success: The Path to Glory

With his mother and father's requests 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 five years, their young son had won his first ranking title, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in consecutive years.

'A Gracious Competitor': His Enduring Personality

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

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

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" 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 Beckham of the Baize'.

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to keep promises to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, 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 died in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities.

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

A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth

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

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country.

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas dropped significantly.

"The goal was for a platform to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children globally.

"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: Two Decades On

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

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's legend.

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

But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is never forgotten.