'Paul was fun': Reflecting on the game's lost great 20 years on.

Everything the young snooker player ever wanted to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, developed at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his family's living room table in Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him win six major trophies in half a dozen years.

Now marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who knew him persist as powerful today.

'He just loved it': Early Beginnings

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years our son would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum states.

"Yet he just loved it."

His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a young boy.

"His dedication was constant," he adds. "He would play every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from home play with great skill.

His natural ability would be coached by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

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 mid-teens to fully focus on building a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within a short period, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded.

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

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

With his natural likability, handsome features 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 marked the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to keep promises to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he died in October 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."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

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

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to youths all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a significant coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world.

"It would have thrilled him 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 via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him".

"I can access it and I can watch Paul at any moment," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is ingrained in 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 accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is always remembered.