'He was a joy': Honoring snooker's taken talent 20 years on.

All the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was practice the game.

A competitive passion, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a professional career that saw him win half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.

The present year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a generational talent that went beyond the game he loved, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career persist as powerful today.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a billion years our son would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter says.

"However he just was passionate about it."

His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a youth.

"His dedication was constant," he notes. "He would play every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from home play with great skill.

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

Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory

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

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious three times, in consecutive years.

'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 faded.

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era.

No wonder then, that he was christened 'A Sporting Icon'.

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

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

Multiple stories from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities.

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

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

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

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

The program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly.

"The idea was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said.

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

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

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

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

While he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's folklore.

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

But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.