'Paul was fun': Reflecting on the sport's taken talent two decades on.

All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, developed at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years.

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

But in spite of the loss of a generational talent that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who were close to him endure as vibrant now.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a billion years the boy would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter states.

"However he just loved it."

His dad remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides 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 local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from home play with remarkable ease.

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

Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their young son had won his first ranking title, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter won on three occasions, in the early 2000s.

'A Gracious Competitor': His Enduring Personality

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him.

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

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple accounts from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth

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

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

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

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has extended 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 senior official in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: Two Decades On

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

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's legend.

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

But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.