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

All Paul Hunter always wished to do was compete on the baize.

A competitive passion, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a professional career that saw him secure six significant titles in a six-year span.

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

But in spite of the passing of a phenomenal skill that transcended the game he loved, his enduring mark on the game and those who knew him persist as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years our son would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum says.

"Yet he just adored it."

Hunter's father recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

"He never stopped," he notes. "He competed every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from home play with aplomb.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

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

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

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "funny, kind" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his natural likability, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'.

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In that year, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple stories from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to keep promises to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community 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."

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to youths all over the country.

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

"The idea was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one official said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork 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 leading figure in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him".

"I can watch it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

While 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 most associated, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

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