'Paul was fun': Reflecting on the sport's taken talent a score of years on.

Everything the young snooker player ever wanted to do was practice the game.

A sporting bug, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his parents' coffee table in the city of Leeds, would result in a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in half a dozen years.

Now marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter died from cancer, just days before to his 28th birthday.

But notwithstanding the tragic departure of a phenomenal skill that transcended the sport he adored, his influence and memory on the game and those who knew him remain as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': Early Beginnings

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

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

Alan Hunter recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" besides snooker as a youth.

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

After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a community venue to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the budding player made the jump from home play with great skill.

His mercurial talent would be coached by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now closed venue in the Leeds district of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: From Teenager to Champion

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "gamble" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on carving out a career in the game.

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

Considered one of snooker's most difficult competitions to win because of the lineup featuring exclusively the best, Hunter triumphed three times, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Cheeky Charm': A Legacy of Character

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's approachable nature never left him.

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He connected with everybody."

"Upon meeting him you'd take to him," Kristina states. "He brought joy. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a child, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his easy charm, handsome features 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 'The Snooker World's Beckham'.

Courage in Crisis: His Final Years

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

Multiple stories from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to fulfill commitments to public appearances and promotional work, all while undergoing treatment.

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

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "It is a terrible thing for any mum and dad to lose a child."

An Enduring Legacy: Inspiring Youth

Hunter's true contribution would be felt not in palaces and castles but in local sports centers across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide free snooker sessions to young people all over the country.

The scheme was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas dropped significantly.

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

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a huge coaching programme, which has provided 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 chairman in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: Two Decades On

Historic matches of their son's matches on YouTube help his parents stay "close to him".

"I can watch it 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 mention him 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 etched into the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, starts later this month. The winner will lift the Paul Hunter Trophy.

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