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

Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

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

Now marks 20 years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But despite the loss of a phenomenal skill that transcended the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on snooker and those who were close to him remain as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a billion years Paul would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter states.

"However he just loved it."

Alan Hunter recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

"He was relentless," he notes. "He practiced every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from miniature games with remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

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

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" 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 modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple stories from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members.

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

A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in local sports centers across the UK.

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

The program was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas fell sharply.

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

The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children internationally.

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

Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence

Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

"I can access it and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she concludes. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's legend.

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

But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.