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

Everything the Leeds-born talent always wished to do was compete on the baize.

A competitive passion, developed at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would result in a pro playing days that saw him win half a dozen major wins in half a dozen years.

The present year marks 20 years since the popular Hunter succumbed to cancer, just days before to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the tragic departure of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the pastime he cherished, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who were close to him persist as powerful today.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years our son would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter states.

"But he just was passionate about it."

His dad recalls how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a youth.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a local club to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the jump from home play with remarkable ease.

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

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

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

It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his initial major win, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed on three occasions, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's down-to-earth charisma never faded.

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

"If you met him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "He was enjoyable. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "amazing, young cheeky beautiful soul" who was "funny, kind" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his easy charm, boyish good looks and honest interview style, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Facing Adversity: Illness and Resilience

In 2005, a year that should have signaled the peak of his powers, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple stories from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary willingness to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while going through treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, 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.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for 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 snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to children 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 scheme to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

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

"It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a leading figure in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

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

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

"We don't mind talking 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 common opinion that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is ingrained in 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 successes, 20 years after his death it is Paul Hunter's spirit, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is never forgotten.