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

Everything the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him win six major trophies in half a dozen years.

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

But in spite of the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the sport and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

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

"But he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from home play with great skill.

His raw skill would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory

With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on carving out a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, 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 humble charm never faded.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

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

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

With his natural likability, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new millennium.

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

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

In that year, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple accounts from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he died in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one official said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children globally.

"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: Two Decades On

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

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

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

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.