'Paul was fun': Remembering snooker's departed star 20 years on.

All Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, developed at the tender age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him secure six major trophies in half a dozen years.

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

But despite the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the sport he adored, his influence and memory on snooker and those who knew him endure as powerful today.

'The game was his life': The Formative Years

"We could not have predicted in a lifetime Paul would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter states.

"However he just loved it."

His dad recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a youth.

"His dedication was constant," he adds. "He practiced every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from home play with aplomb.

His raw skill would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now defunct club in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born

With his family's urging 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 age of 14 to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within a short period, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': A Legacy of Character

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never faded.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Courage in Crisis: His Final Years

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

Multiple accounts from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to children all over the country.

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly.

"The aim remained for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.

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

"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: Two Decades On

Archive videos of their son's matches online 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 are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be spoken of."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

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