'Paul was fun': Honoring the sport's taken talent 20 years on.

All Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was compete on the baize.

A competitive passion, caught at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him secure six major trophies in half a dozen years.

This year marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the game and those who followed his career remain as powerful today.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

"We'd never have known in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother recalls.

"However he just loved it."

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

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from miniature games with aplomb.

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

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

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

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue

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 connected with everybody."

"If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his natural likability, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

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

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

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

Multiple stories from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, 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 passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in royal circles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to children all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a platform to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally.

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

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

Archive videos of their son's matches on YouTube 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 continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

But for all his successes, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.