'He was a joy': Remembering snooker's lost great 20 years on.

Everything the young snooker player truly desired to do was compete on the baize.

A competitive passion, caught at the tender age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in his Leeds home, would result in a professional career that saw him claim half a dozen major wins in a six-year span.

Now marks two decades since the adored Hunter succumbed to cancer, days short to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a generational talent that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on snooker and those who knew him remain as powerful today.

'His passion was clear': A Childhood Obsession

"We could not have predicted in a lifetime Paul would become a career sportsman," Kristina Hunter says.

"But he just adored it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" other than snooker as a youth.

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

After repeatedly pleading with 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 transition from home play with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion

With his family's urging to do his homework often being ignored as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully dedicate himself to building a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of elite players only, Hunter triumphed three times, in consecutive years.

'A Cheeky Charm': His Enduring Personality

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

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

"If you met him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "He brought joy. He'd make you feel at ease."

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had daughter Evie, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "humorous, caring" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his easy charm, youthful appearance and straight-talking media manner, 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 the mid-2000s, a year that should have signaled the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

Multiple anecdotes from across the professional tour highlight the man's extraordinary dedication to keep promises to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

Despite gruelling side effects, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's family-like circuit lost one of its most popular brothers.

"The pain is immense," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Foundation for the Future: Giving Back

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles 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 initiative was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas dropped significantly.

"The aim remained for a program to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

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

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

Forever in Memory: Two Decades On

Classic footage of their son's matches online help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she adds. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be spoken of."

Although he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have eventually won snooker's ultimate trophy 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 memorial cup.

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