'Paul was fun': Honoring snooker's taken talent a score of years on.

Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him secure six major trophies in six years.

The present year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.

But in spite of the loss of a generational talent that rose above the sport he adored, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who were close to him remain as powerful today.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime our son would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum recalls.

"But he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a child.

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

After persistently asking 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 leap from table top snooker with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

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

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

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

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."

"If you met him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

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

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed 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 suffer such a loss."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions 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 goal was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one official said.

The Foundation helped pave the way 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 leading figure in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: 20 Years Later

Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, begins later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy.

But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.