'He was a joy': Remembering snooker's lost great two decades on.

Everything the young snooker player truly desired to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, sparked at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him claim six major trophies in half a dozen years.

Now marks two decades since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that rose above the sport he adored, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who knew him persist as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years the boy would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter recalls.

"Yet he just adored it."

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

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from miniature games with remarkable ease.

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

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

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 fourteen years old to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him.

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, 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 pin-up for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

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

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply.

"The idea was for a scheme to help get kids off the street," one coach said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally.

"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: A Lasting Presence

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 like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be recalled."

While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's legend.

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

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