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

Everything the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was play snooker.

A love for the game, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in Leeds, would culminate in a professional career that saw him claim six major trophies in six years.

Now marks a score of years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the game he loved, his influence and memory on the sport and those who knew him endure as powerful today.

'His passion was clear': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum says.

"But he just adored it."

Hunter's father recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a child.

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

After successfully badgering 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 table top snooker with great skill.

His natural ability would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion

With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to carving out a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open.

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

'A Gracious Competitor': The Man Behind the Cue

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."

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "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 "always the last to leave the party".

With his natural likability, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century.

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

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to youths all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally.

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

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

"I can access it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!"

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, 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 dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.