'He was a joy': Reflecting on the game's taken talent 20 years on.

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

A love for the game, sparked at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in half a dozen years.

Now marks a score of years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the passing of a generational talent that transcended the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the sport and those who followed his career persist as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"We'd never have known in a million years Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter says.

"But he just adored it."

Hunter's father remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a child.

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the transition from home play with remarkable ease.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter won on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never faded.

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

"If you met him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

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

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have been the height of his career, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

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

"It's awful," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers 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 program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly.

"The idea was for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children internationally.

"He would have embraced what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a senior official in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

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

"I can access it and I can watch Paul whenever I wish," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, 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 secured snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, begins later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.