'Paul was fun': Remembering the game's departed star two decades on.

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

A sporting bug, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him claim six significant titles in a six-year span.

Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the loss of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who knew him remain as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a million years our son would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum states.

"However he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a child.

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from miniature games with great skill.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion 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 regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

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

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

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 connected with everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century.

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

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple stories from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in autumn 2006, 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."

An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to young people all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one official said.

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

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

Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later

Archive videos 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 at any moment," 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 spoken of."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's folklore.

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

But for all his accomplishments, 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.