'He was a joy': Remembering snooker's lost great a score of years on.

All the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, developed at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in Leeds, would culminate in a professional career that saw him win half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

This year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the game and those who knew him endure as strong as ever.

'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession

"We could not have predicted in a billion years Paul would become a professional snooker player," his mother recalls.

"Yet he just adored it."

Alan Hunter recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a young boy.

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

After successfully badgering 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 remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: The Path to Glory

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the mid-teens to fully dedicate himself to forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed three times, in the early 2000s.

'A Cheeky Charm': The Man Behind the Cue

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

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

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

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his natural likability, youthful appearance and honest interview style, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In 2005, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in autumn 2006, 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: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to young people all over the country.

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

"The idea was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one coach said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has provided 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.

Never Forgotten: Two Decades On

Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "connected to him".

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she continues. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's top honor is a part of the sport's history.

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

But for all his accomplishments, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.