'Paul was fun': Remembering snooker's departed star 20 years on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a professional career that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

Now marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that rose above the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career persist as vibrant now.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a billion years Paul would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter states.

"But he just was passionate about it."

His dad remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

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

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from home play with great skill.

His natural ability would be coached by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

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

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

"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. 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 "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

Courage in Crisis: His Final Years

In 2005, a year that should have been the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities.

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

An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in high society but in community venues across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to youths all over the country.

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas dropped significantly.

"The idea was for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children internationally.

"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: 20 Years Later

Archive videos 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 a comfort!"

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of."

Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is never forgotten.