'He was a joy': Remembering the game's taken talent two decades on.

All the young snooker player always wished to do was compete on the baize.

A sporting bug, developed 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 life on the tour that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.

This year marks a score of years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the game he loved, his enduring mark on snooker and those who were close to him endure as vibrant now.

'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession

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

"But he just loved it."

His dad recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from home play with aplomb.

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

Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him.

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

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

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, 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, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

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

Multiple accounts from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in high society but in community venues across the UK.

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

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas fell sharply.

"The aim remained for a platform to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children internationally.

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

Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later

Archive videos 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 wonderful!"

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's folklore.

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

But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.