'Paul was fun': Reflecting on the game's departed star 20 years on.

All the Leeds-born talent truly desired to do was play snooker.

A love for the game, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him win six significant titles in six years.

This year marks 20 years since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the passing of a phenomenal skill that transcended the sport he adored, his enduring mark on the sport and those who knew him endure as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': The Formative Years

"We'd never have known in a billion years our son would become a professional snooker player," his mother states.

"But he just adored it."

His dad recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" other than snooker as a child.

"His dedication was constant," he adds. "He would play every night after school."

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from miniature games with aplomb.

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

Quick Success: A Star is Born

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework often being ignored as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on forging a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the late-nineties Welsh championship.

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

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never left him.

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "funny, kind" 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 poster boy for the new millennium.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple stories from across the sporting world speak of the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to lose a child."

A Foundation for the Future: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true impact 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 young people all over the country.

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

"The aim remained for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a huge 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 chairman in the sport stated.

Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence

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 adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is a part of the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, commences later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy.

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