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

All the young snooker player always wished to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, sparked at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him win half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

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

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the pastime he cherished, his enduring mark 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 million years our son would become a professional snooker player," Hunter's mum recalls.

"However he just loved it."

Hunter's father recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

"He was relentless," he notes. "He practiced every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from home play with aplomb.

His natural ability would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework regularly going unheeded as practice took priority, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully focus on building a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their young son had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in the early 2000s.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never left him.

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

"When encountering him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "humorous, caring" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his natural likability, 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 millennium.

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

Courage in Crisis: A Fight Against Cancer

In that year, a year that should have been the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit speak of the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The Crucible Theatre when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Lasting Impact: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in high society but in community venues across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to youths all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one official said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a huge coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children all over the world.

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

Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later

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

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

While he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion 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 forever linked, commences later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

But for all his accomplishments, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's character, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is never forgotten.