'Paul was fun': Remembering snooker's taken talent two decades on.

All Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was play snooker.

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

Now marks 20 years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a generational talent that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on the game and those who followed his career remain as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a billion years Paul would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum says.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a youth.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from home play with great skill.

His raw skill would be developed by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion

With his mother and father's requests 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 proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

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

"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 partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his easy charm, 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 christened 'A Sporting Icon'.

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

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 sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

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

When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit 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 Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true impact 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 free snooker sessions to youths all over the country.

The program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted.

"The idea was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant 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.

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

Archive videos of their son's matches online 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 adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of."

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

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

But for all his successes, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.