'Paul was fun': Honoring snooker's lost great 20 years on.

Everything Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker.

A sporting bug, caught at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would result in a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in six years.

Now marks two decades since the beloved Hunter succumbed to 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 sport he adored, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who knew him remain as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years Paul would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum states.

"But he just was passionate about it."

His dad recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a child.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from miniature games with great skill.

His natural ability would be nurtured 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 family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on carving out a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious three times, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

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

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

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the modern era.

No wonder then, that he was dubbed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'.

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple stories from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities.

"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 impact would be felt not in high society but in local sports centers across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to children all over the country.

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas dropped significantly.

"The aim remained for a program to help get kids off the street," one official said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally.

"It would have thrilled him 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 access it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's a comfort!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is etched into the sport's history.

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