'Paul was fun': Remembering the sport's taken talent a score of years on.

Everything Paul Hunter ever wanted to do was practice the game.

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

The present year marks 20 years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.

But notwithstanding the passing of a phenomenal skill that went beyond the game he loved, his enduring mark on the sport and those who were close to him remain as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime Paul would become a professional snooker player," Kristina Hunter recalls.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

Hunter's father recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a child.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from miniature games with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded 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 proved a masterstroke. Within half a decade, their young son had won his first ranking title, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

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

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

"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's wife 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 easy charm, boyish good looks and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year.

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

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

A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth

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

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to children all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a scheme to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant 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

Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all."

While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, begins later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

But for all his achievements, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.