'He was a joy': Honoring snooker's taken talent a score of years on.

All the young snooker player truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A sporting bug, sparked at the age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would lead to a professional career that saw him claim six significant titles in half a dozen years.

This year marks two decades since the popular Hunter died from cancer, days short to his birthday marking 28 years.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a generational talent that went beyond the sport he adored, his influence and memory on snooker and those who were close to him persist as powerful today.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a billion years the boy would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter states.

"But 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 notes. "He would play every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the transition from home play with remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion

With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

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

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his natural likability, handsome features and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new millennium.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

In the mid-2000s, a year that should have been the zenith of his talent, Hunter was told he had cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple accounts from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while enduring treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he died in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths 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 platform to help offer a constructive activity," one official 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 on YouTube help his parents stay "close to him".

"I can access it 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 talk than him not be spoken of."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, starts 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 spirit, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.