'He was a joy': 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, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a small snooker set on his home's central table in his Leeds home, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him secure six major trophies in half a dozen years.

The present year marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, just days before to his twenty-eighth birthday.

But despite the loss of a once-in-a-generation player that rose above the game he loved, his legacy and impact on the sport and those who followed his career 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 professional snooker player," Hunter's mum says.

"But he just loved it."

Hunter's father recounts how his son "showed no interest in anything else" except for snooker as a child.

"He was relentless," he notes. "He practiced 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 leap from table top snooker with remarkable ease.

His natural ability would be coached by the former world title holder Joe Johnson, from the adjacent city, at a now closed venue in the area of Yeadon.

Quick Success: From Teenager to Champion

With his family's urging to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on forging a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within a short period, their still-teenage son had won his initial major win, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's hardest tournaments to win because of the presence of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious on three occasions, in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

'A Gracious Competitor': A Legacy of Character

But for all his triumphs in the sport, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never faded.

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

"When encountering him you'd like him," Kristina adds. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

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

With his effortless appeal, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's leading figure for the new 21st Century.

No wonder then, that he was nicknamed 'The Beckham of the Baize'.

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple anecdotes from across the snooker circuit attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to exhibitions, events and press interviews, all while undergoing treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter kept playing through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The famous Sheffield venue when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in autumn 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its best-loved members.

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

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in royal circles but in local sports centers across the UK.

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to children all over the country.

The program was so successful that, according to reports, issues with young people in some areas plummeted.

"The aim remained for a program to help offer a constructive activity," one official said.

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a significant coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children all over the world.

"Paul would have loved 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 online help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she concludes. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody mention him than him not be mentioned at all."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the common opinion that Hunter would have secured snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's folklore.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most associated, starts later this month. The winner will lift the trophy named in his honor.

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.