'Paul was fun': Reflecting on snooker's lost great two decades on.

All the young snooker player truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A competitive passion, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him secure six significant titles in half a dozen years.

The present year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years.

But notwithstanding the loss of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the game he loved, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career endure as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a lifetime the boy would become a career sportsman," his mother recalls.

"Yet he just adored it."

Hunter's father recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a youth.

"His dedication was constant," he notes. "He competed every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from table top snooker with aplomb.

His raw skill would be developed by the 1986 World Champion 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 increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on building a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter was victorious three times, in consecutive years.

'A Gracious Competitor': His Enduring Personality

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his natural likability, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

In 2005, a year that should have marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple anecdotes from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary commitment 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 World Championship arena when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

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

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

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted.

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

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children all over the world.

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

Never Forgotten: Two Decades On

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 wonderful!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, begins later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his achievements, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.