'He was a joy': Remembering the game's lost great two decades on.

All the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A sporting bug, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, 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, days short to his 28th birthday.

But notwithstanding the passing of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the sport and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years the boy would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter states.

"Yet he just adored it."

Hunter's father remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a child.

"His dedication was constant," he adds. "He practiced every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from miniature games with remarkable ease.

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

Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

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

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter won three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

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

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. 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 "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century.

No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'.

Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple stories from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre 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 most popular brothers.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK.

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

The program was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted.

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

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

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

Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later

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

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy.

But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.