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

All the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him claim six major trophies in a six-year span.

This year marks 20 years since the popular Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career endure as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a billion years Paul would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter states.

"But he just loved it."

His dad recounts how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

"He never stopped," he notes. "He would play every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from miniature games with aplomb.

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

Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, 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 was a resounding success. Within a short period, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

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

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"If you met him you'd like him," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to youths all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally.

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

Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later

Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

"I can watch it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!"

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be recalled."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.