'He was a joy': Reflecting on the sport's departed star 20 years on.

All the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A competitive passion, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would result in a professional career that saw him secure six major trophies in six years.

Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the tragic departure of a generational talent that transcended the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who followed his career remain as powerful today.

'His passion was clear': The Formative Years

"We could not have predicted in a million years Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter recalls.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

Hunter's father remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a child.

"He never stopped," he notes. "He competed every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from miniature games with aplomb.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on building a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, 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 involvement of elite players only, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in the early 2000s.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never faded.

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

"If you met him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "humorous, caring" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

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

Facing Adversity: His Final Years

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 anecdotes from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he died in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

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

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to children 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 provide a positive outlet," one official said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant 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 chairman in the sport stated.

Forever in Memory: Two Decades On

Archive videos of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him".

"I can bring it up and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's marvellous!"

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore.

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

But for all his successes, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.