'He was a joy': Remembering snooker's lost great a score of years on.

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

A sporting bug, developed at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would result in a professional career that saw him win six major trophies in half a dozen years.

Now marks a score of years since the adored Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.

But despite the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on snooker and those who were close to him persist as powerful today.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

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

"But he just loved it."

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

"He was relentless," he says. "He would play 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 jump from miniature games with remarkable ease.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

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

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

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, 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, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new millennium.

No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'A Sporting Icon'.

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he played at the World Championships that year.

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

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles but in snooker halls and clubs 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, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply.

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

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a huge coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world.

"It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated.

Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence

Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

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

Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is etched into the sport's history.

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

But for all his successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.