'He was a joy': Honoring the sport'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 very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in the city of Leeds, would result in a life on the tour that saw him win six significant titles in six years.

The present year marks two decades since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But notwithstanding the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended 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 could not have predicted in a billion years our son would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum recalls.

"But he just loved it."

Alan Hunter recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a child.

"His dedication was constant," 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 young Hunter made the leap from table top snooker with great skill.

His raw skill would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now closed venue in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

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

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

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, 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 honest interview style, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'A Sporting Icon'.

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to keep promises to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.

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

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in royal circles but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted.

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

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

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

Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence

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

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all."

While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's greatest prize is a part of 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 accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.