'Paul was fun': Remembering the sport's departed star 20 years on.

Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A sporting bug, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him secure half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

Now marks two decades since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, days short to his 28th birthday.

But despite the passing of a generational talent that rose above the pastime he cherished, his influence and memory on snooker and those who followed his career remain as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum recalls.

"But he just was passionate about it."

His dad recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a child.

"He never stopped," he says. "He practiced every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the transition from table top snooker with great skill.

His raw skill would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: 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 fourteen years old to fully focus on building a career in the game.

It proved a masterstroke. Within five years, their young son had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

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

'A Gracious Competitor': His Enduring Personality

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never deserted him.

"His demeanor was excellent did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: 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 cancer therapy.

Multiple accounts from across the sporting world highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The Crucible Theatre when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its cherished personalities.

"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 royal circles 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 initiative was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly.

"The aim remained for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one official said.

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

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

Never Forgotten: Two Decades On

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

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

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she adds. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be recalled."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor 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 trophy named in his honor.

But for all his accomplishments, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his brilliant talent on the table, that will ensure he is never forgotten.