'He was a joy': Honoring snooker's taken talent two decades on.

Everything Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker.

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

This year marks two decades since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the game he loved, his enduring mark on snooker and those who were close to him endure as powerful today.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter says.

"However he just adored it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a child.

"He was relentless," he notes. "He would play every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from home play with great skill.

His natural ability would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

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. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple accounts from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.

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

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact 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 free snooker sessions to young people all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted.

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

The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally.

"It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated.

Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later

Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's folklore.

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

But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is never forgotten.