'He was a joy': Honoring the game's lost great two decades on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was compete on the baize.

A sporting bug, caught at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would lead to a professional career that saw him secure six significant titles in a six-year span.

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

But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that transcended the game he loved, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who followed his career endure as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a lifetime Paul would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum says.

"But he just adored it."

His dad recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

"He was relentless," he adds. "He competed every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from home play with great skill.

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

Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on building a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. 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 lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter won on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

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

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

"If you met him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

In that year, a year that should have been the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre 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 cherished personalities.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

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

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

"The goal was for a platform to help get kids off the street," one official said.

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

"Paul would have loved 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 "connected to him".

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins 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 spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.