'Paul was fun': Remembering the game's lost great two decades on.

Everything the young snooker player always wished to do was practice the game.

A competitive passion, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his family's living room table in Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

The present year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on the game and those who knew him remain as powerful today.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

"We'd never have known in a billion years the boy would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum states.

"Yet he just loved it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from miniature games with remarkable ease.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their young 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 elite players only, Hunter won a trio of times, in consecutive years.

'A Gracious Competitor': A Legacy of Character

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

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

"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society 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, anti-social behavior in some areas dropped significantly.

"The idea was for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children globally.

"Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

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

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's folklore.

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 achievements, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.