'He was a joy': Remembering the sport's taken talent 20 years on.

Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him win six major trophies in a six-year span.

Now marks two decades since the popular Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the sport and those who knew him persist as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime our son 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.

"His dedication was constant," he notes. "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 jump from miniature games with remarkable ease.

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

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his first ranking title, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter won three times, in the early 2000s.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

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

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

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

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

With his natural likability, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple accounts from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in local sports centers across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to youths all over the country.

The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply.

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

The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge 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 senior official in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later

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

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore.

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 accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.