'He was a joy': Remembering snooker's lost great a score of years on.

All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was practice the game.

A competitive passion, sparked at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a professional career that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in six years.

This year marks two decades since the popular Hunter died from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the sport he adored, his enduring mark on snooker and those who followed his career endure as powerful today.

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"We could not have predicted in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother recalls.

"However he just was passionate about it."

His dad remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a child.

"He was relentless," he says. "He practiced every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from home play with remarkable ease.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

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

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, 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 down-to-earth charisma never deserted him.

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

"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "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 "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

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

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

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

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain."

An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers across the UK.

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

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

"The idea was for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one official said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children globally.

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

Always Remembered: 20 Years Later

Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled."

Even though 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 history.

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

But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.