'He was a joy': Honoring the game's taken talent two decades on.

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

A love for the game, developed at the age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his parents' coffee table in his Leeds home, would culminate in a pro playing days that saw him secure six major trophies in six years.

The present year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that transcended the game he loved, his enduring mark on snooker and those who followed his career persist as vibrant now.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

"We could not have predicted in a billion years Paul would become a pro on the circuit," his mother recalls.

"But he just loved it."

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

"He never stopped," he notes. "He would play every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from table top snooker with aplomb.

His raw skill would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now former establishment in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

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

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

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

But for all his achievements in competition, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never left him.

"He had a great temperament did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina states. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his natural likability, handsome features 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 christened 'A Sporting Icon'.

Facing Adversity: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have been the height of his career, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple accounts from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The Crucible Theatre when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he died in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

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

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

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 accessible training to youths all over the country.

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

"The idea was for a scheme to help offer a constructive activity," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has opened up 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 leading figure in the sport stated.

Never Forgotten: A Lasting Presence

Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube 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 wonderful!"

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she continues. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all."

Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's greatest prize is a part of the sport's folklore.

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

But for all his successes, two decades after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.