'He was a joy': Honoring the game's lost great a score of years on.

All Paul Hunter truly desired to do was play snooker.

A sporting bug, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years.

Now marks two decades since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a generational talent that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the game and those who followed his career persist as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"We'd never have known in a billion years Paul would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter says.

"But he just loved it."

His dad recounts how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a child.

"He never stopped," 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 budding player made the jump from miniature games with aplomb.

His raw skill would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate 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 hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s.

'A Gracious Competitor': A Legacy of Character

But for all his success on the table, 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."

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed."

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

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

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

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

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

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

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs 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 scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas dropped significantly.

"The aim remained for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis 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 leading figure in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

Historic matches of their son's matches online help his parents stay "close to him".

"I can bring it up and I can watch Paul anytime," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be recalled."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences 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 dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.