'He was a joy': Reflecting on snooker's lost great two decades on.

All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was compete on the baize.

A sporting bug, developed at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him win half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.

Now marks a score of years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a generational talent that rose above the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the sport and those who knew him endure as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"We could not have predicted in a billion years our son would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter recalls.

"However he just was passionate about it."

Hunter's father remembers how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from home play with remarkable ease.

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

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

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

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never left him.

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

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

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, 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'.

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to keep promises to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment.

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

When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members.

"It's awful," 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 royal circles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

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

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

"The goal was for a platform to help get kids off the street," one official said.

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

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

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

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

"I can bring it up and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"

"We don't mind talking 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 common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's legend.

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

But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.