'Paul was fun': Remembering the sport's taken talent 20 years on.

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

A sporting bug, developed at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years.

Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who knew him remain as powerful today.

'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession

"We'd never have known in a lifetime the boy would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum states.

"Yet he just loved it."

Alan Hunter remembers how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" except for snooker as a youth.

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

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from home play with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

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

It was a resounding success. Within five years, their adolescent had won his first ranking title, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of 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 down-to-earth charisma never deserted him.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "funny, kind" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his natural likability, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

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

Facing Adversity: His Final Years

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to keep promises to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The World Championship arena when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its best-loved members.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in royal circles but in community venues across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

The program was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas plummeted.

"The goal was for a platform to help provide a positive outlet," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has provided 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 chairman in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

Classic footage of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "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 common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into 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 dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.