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

All the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would lead to a professional career that saw him win six significant titles in six years.

Now marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But notwithstanding the loss of a generational talent that went beyond the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who knew him endure as powerful today.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother recalls.

"However he just was passionate about it."

His dad recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a youth.

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

After successfully badgering 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 leap from table top snooker with remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

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 mid-teens to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter won a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never faded.

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

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and honest interview style, 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'.

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

In 2005, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to keep promises to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he died in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in community venues across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," 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.

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

Never Forgotten: Two Decades On

Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's folklore.

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

But for all his achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.