'Paul was fun': Honoring snooker's lost great a score of years on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent 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 family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win six major trophies in six years.

Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

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

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

"We'd never have known in a lifetime Paul would become a career sportsman," his mother states.

"But he just loved it."

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

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

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from home play with great skill.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, 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 involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter won three times, in the early 2000s.

'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 had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

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

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

With his natural likability, handsome features and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

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

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in high society 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 initiative was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas fell sharply.

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

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally.

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

Forever in Memory: 20 Years Later

Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

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

Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, commences later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

But for all his achievements, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.