'Paul was fun': Remembering the game's taken talent two decades on.

All the young snooker player always wished to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him claim six significant titles in six years.

Now marks two decades since the popular Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on snooker and those who knew him persist as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"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."

Hunter's father remembers how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a youth.

"His dedication was constant," he notes. "He practiced every night after school."

After persistently asking 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 home play with great skill.

His raw skill would be developed by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the presence of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him.

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

"Upon meeting him you'd enjoy his company," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his natural likability, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, 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'.

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo cancer therapy.

Multiple accounts from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to keep promises to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while undergoing treatment.

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

When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its cherished personalities.

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

An Enduring Legacy: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, 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 fell sharply.

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

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children globally.

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

Never Forgotten: 20 Years Later

Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's greatest prize is ingrained in the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, starts 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 personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is never forgotten.