'He was a joy': Remembering the sport's departed star 20 years on.

Everything Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, sparked at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a professional career that saw him win six major trophies in a six-year span.

The present year marks two decades since the adored Hunter died from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.

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

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a billion years Paul would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum says.

"Yet he just loved it."

His dad recounts how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a youth.

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from miniature games with aplomb.

His natural ability would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

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

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

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era.

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 peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year.

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

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

An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true legacy 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 young people all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted.

"The idea was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one official said.

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

Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later

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

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

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

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy.

But for all his successes, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.