'He was a joy': Honoring the sport's taken talent a score of years on.

Everything the young snooker player ever wanted to do was play snooker.

A sporting bug, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in a six-year span.

Now marks 20 years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the game he loved, his enduring mark on the sport and those who knew him endure as powerful today.

'The game was his life': The Formative Years

"We could not have predicted in a million years Paul would become a career sportsman," his mother says.

"However he just loved it."

Alan Hunter recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a youth.

"He never stopped," he notes. "He would play every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with 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 great skill.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within five years, their still-teenage 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 three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never left him.

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

"If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. 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 "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have been the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple accounts from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through 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 the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in community venues across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has provided 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.

Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later

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

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion 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 synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

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