'He was a joy': Reflecting on the game's departed star two decades on.

All Paul Hunter always wished to do was compete on the baize.

A competitive passion, developed at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him win half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.

Now marks 20 years since the adored Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the game he loved, his enduring mark on snooker and those who followed his career remain as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

"We could not have predicted in a lifetime our son would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter states.

"But he just adored it."

Alan Hunter recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" except for snooker as a young boy.

"He was relentless," he says. "He competed every night after school."

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a local club to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from table top snooker with great skill.

His natural ability would be nurtured by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: The Path to Glory

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

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

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

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

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

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his effortless appeal, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new millennium.

No wonder then, that he was christened 'The Beckham of the Baize'.

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

In that year, a year that should have signaled the zenith of his talent, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while enduring treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

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

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Lasting Impact: The Paul Hunter Foundation

Hunter's true impact would be felt not in palaces and castles but in local sports centers across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to young people all over the country.

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

"The aim remained 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 globally.

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

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all."

Although he never won the World Championship, the highly probable notion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's history.

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

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