'Paul was fun': Remembering the game's lost great two decades on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was practice the game.

A sporting bug, sparked at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his home's central table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in half a dozen years.

Now marks 20 years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years.

But in spite of the loss of a phenomenal skill that rose above the game he loved, his influence and memory on the sport and those who followed his career endure as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years Paul would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter states.

"However he just adored it."

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

"He was relentless," he adds. "He would play every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from miniature games with aplomb.

His natural ability would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their young son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter won on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded.

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He got on with everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

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

Multiple stories from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in community venues across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country.

The program was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas fell sharply.

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

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a major coaching programme, which has extended 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.

Never Forgotten: Two Decades On

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

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is ingrained in the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, starts 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 character, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.