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

Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was practice the game.

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

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

But notwithstanding the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the game he loved, his influence and memory on snooker and those who knew him persist as powerful today.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother says.

"However he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a child.

"His dedication was constant," he adds. "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 budding player made the jump from home play with great skill.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully dedicate himself to carving out a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their young son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter won a trio of times, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him.

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

"When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you feel at ease."

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

With his natural likability, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century.

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

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

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

Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

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

When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, 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."

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

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

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to children all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children all over the world.

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

Forever in Memory: Two Decades On

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

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be recalled."

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

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.