'Paul was fun': Honoring the sport's taken talent two decades on.

All Paul Hunter truly desired to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him claim six significant titles in six years.

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

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a generational talent that went beyond the game he loved, his enduring mark on the sport and those who knew him persist as powerful today.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

"We could not have predicted in a million years the boy would become a career sportsman," his mother states.

"However he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

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

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from home play with remarkable ease.

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

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" 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 five years, their young son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

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

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never left him.

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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 program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas fell sharply.

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

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

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

Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later

Historic matches 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 wonderful!"

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all."

While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is a part of 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 accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is never forgotten.