'Paul was fun': Honoring snooker's taken talent a score of years on.

Everything the Leeds-born talent truly desired 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 family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a professional career that saw him win six major trophies in a six-year span.

The present year marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, mere days prior to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the sport he adored, his enduring mark on snooker and those who knew him endure as vibrant now.

'The game was his life': The Formative Years

"It was impossible to foresee in a lifetime our son would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum states.

"But he just adored it."

His dad recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" other than snooker as a child.

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

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a nearby hall to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the leap from table top snooker with remarkable ease.

His raw skill would be nurtured by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: A Star is Born

With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as practice took priority, 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 paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the involvement of only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in the early 2000s.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

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

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

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

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "humorous, caring" and "typically the final guest at the party".

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his immense skill, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the new 21st Century.

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

A Brave Battle: A Fight Against Cancer

In 2005, a year that should have marked the height of his career, Hunter was found to have cancer and would later undergo chemotherapy.

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a standing ovation 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 best-loved members.

"The pain is immense," 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 foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to youths all over the country.

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, anti-social behavior in some areas plummeted.

"The goal was for a scheme to help get kids off the street," one organizer said.

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a major coaching programme, which has opened up playing opportunities to children internationally.

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

Forever in Memory: A Lasting Presence

Classic footage of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "in touch with his memory".

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

"We don't mind talking about Paul," she concludes. "At first it was sad, but I'd rather somebody talk than him not be mentioned at all."

Although he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is ingrained in the sport's legend.

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, starts 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 character, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.