'Paul was fun': Honoring the game's departed star 20 years on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would lead to a professional career that saw him secure six major trophies in half a dozen years.

This year marks two decades since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the sport he adored, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who were close to him persist as powerful today.

'The game was his life': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a lifetime our son would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter states.

"However he just loved it."

Hunter's father recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a child.

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

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from home play with remarkable ease.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: The Path to Glory

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

It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their young son had won his first ranking title, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter was victorious three times, in the early 2000s.

'A Gracious Competitor': His Enduring Personality

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never faded.

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

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.

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

Facing Adversity: 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 cancer therapy.

Multiple stories from across the professional tour speak of the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its cherished personalities.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

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

"The idea was for a scheme to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally.

"It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him".

"I can bring it up 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 mention him than him not be spoken of."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion 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 forever linked, starts later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his successes, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.