'He was a joy': Honoring the game's taken talent 20 years on.

All the young snooker player always wished to do was play snooker.

A sporting bug, sparked at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would result in a professional career that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in six years.

The present year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on the sport and those who were close to him persist as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a lifetime the boy would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter says.

"However he just loved it."

His dad recalls 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 repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from table top snooker with aplomb.

His natural ability would be coached by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

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

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

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

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, 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, boyish good looks 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 nicknamed 'A Sporting Icon'.

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In that year, a year that should have marked the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple stories from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary dedication 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 tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true legacy 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 children all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a scheme to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has provided 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: A Lasting Presence

Historic matches 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 a comfort!"

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

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

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