'He was a joy': Reflecting on snooker's departed star two decades on.

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

A sporting bug, sparked at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him secure six significant titles in half a dozen years.

Now marks a score of years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on snooker and those who followed his career endure as strong as ever.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

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

"Yet he just loved it."

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

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from table top snooker with great skill.

His raw skill would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on carving out a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him.

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

"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his natural likability, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century.

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

Facing Adversity: His Final Years

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to children all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly.

"The goal was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one official said.

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

"Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman 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 watch 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 talk than him not be spoken of."

Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's folklore.

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

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