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

Everything the young snooker player truly desired to do was play snooker.

A love for the game, developed 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 claim half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

This year marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday.

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

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years the boy would become a pro on the circuit," his mother says.

"Yet he just loved it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a youth.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from home play with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their young son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed three times, 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 approachable nature never faded.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his natural likability, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

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

Facing Adversity: His Final Years

In 2005, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

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

Despite difficult symptoms, 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 died in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, 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 plummeted.

"The goal was for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one official said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children all over the world.

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

Always Remembered: 20 Years Later

Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him".

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

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

While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's legend.

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, 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.