'Paul was fun': Remembering the game's lost great two decades on.

All Paul Hunter always wished to do was practice the game.

A sporting bug, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would culminate in a professional career that saw him win six major trophies in a six-year span.

This year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark on snooker and those who were close to him endure as powerful today.

'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession

"We'd never have known in a billion years our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother states.

"But he just loved it."

Hunter's father remembers how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a youth.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from home play with remarkable ease.

His natural ability would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on carving out a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded.

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

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

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

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

In that year, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple accounts from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in snooker halls and clubs 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 plummeted.

"The goal was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," 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: Two Decades On

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

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled."

While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, 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 personality, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.