'He was a joy': Reflecting on the sport's lost great a score of years on.

All the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, sparked at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him secure six significant titles in a six-year span.

Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that transcended the game he loved, his enduring mark on the sport and those who were close to him endure as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': The Formative Years

"We could not have predicted in a lifetime Paul would become a pro on the circuit," his mother says.

"But he just was passionate about it."

His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a child.

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

After successfully badgering 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 aplomb.

His natural ability would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as training came first, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious three times, in the early 2000s.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

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 got on with everybody."

"If you met him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's wife 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, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: His Final Years

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have marked the peak of his powers, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he died in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain."

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 accessible training to youths all over the country.

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

"The idea 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 provided playing opportunities to children internationally.

"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: 20 Years Later

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

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

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

Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's legend.

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 achievements, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.