'He was a joy': Reflecting on snooker's lost great 20 years on.

All Paul Hunter always wished to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, caught at the very young 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 win half a dozen major wins in six years.

Now marks 20 years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.

But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that transcended the sport he adored, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who followed his career persist as powerful today.

'His passion was clear': The Formative Years

"We'd never have known in a lifetime Paul would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum says.

"Yet he just loved it."

His dad remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a young boy.

"He never stopped," he adds. "He would play every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from miniature games with remarkable ease.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory

With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter triumphed a trio of times, in the early 2000s.

'A Gracious Competitor': His Enduring Personality

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him.

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century.

No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Snooker World's Beckham'.

Courage in Crisis: His Final Years

In 2005, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to keep promises to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.

"The pain is immense," 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 high society but in local sports centers across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, 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 fell sharply.

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

The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children globally.

"Paul would have loved what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official 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 wonderful!"

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody talk 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 greatest prize 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 Paul Hunter Trophy.

But for all his achievements, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is always remembered.