'He was a joy': Remembering the game's taken talent a score of years on.

Everything Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker.

A sporting bug, developed at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him win half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.

Now marks a score of years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the game he loved, his enduring mark on the game and those who were close to him persist as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother states.

"However he just was passionate about it."

His dad recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a young boy.

"He never stopped," he says. "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 budding player made the leap from home play with aplomb.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

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 fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter won a trio of times, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never left him.

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century.

No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Beckham of the Baize'.

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple stories from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

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

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in snooker halls and clubs 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 dropped significantly.

"The aim remained for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.

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

"It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

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

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts 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 forever celebrated.