'He was a joy': Reflecting on snooker's taken talent a score of years on.

Everything the young snooker player ever wanted to do was play snooker.

A sporting bug, caught at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in six years.

The present year marks two decades since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But notwithstanding the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who were close to him remain as strong as ever.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

"We could not have predicted in a million years the boy would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum says.

"Yet he just loved it."

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

"He never stopped," he says. "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 transition from home play with remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now closed venue in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Quick Success: The Path to Glory

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious three times, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him.

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

"When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new 21st Century.

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

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

In 2005, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple accounts from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he died in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child."

An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to young people all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted.

"The goal was for a scheme to help get kids off the street," one organizer 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 leading figure in the sport stated.

Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence

Archive videos of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We don't mind talking 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 eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy.

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