'Paul was fun': Reflecting on snooker's lost great a score of years on.

All the Leeds-born talent ever wanted to do was practice the game.

A love for the game, sparked at the very young age of three with the help of a tiny snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would lead to a pro playing days that saw him claim six major trophies in half a dozen years.

The present year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his 28th birthday.

But in spite of the passing of a once-in-a-generation player that went beyond the game he loved, his legacy and impact on snooker and those who followed his career remain as strong as ever.

'His passion was clear': The Formative Years

"We'd never have known in a million years the boy would become a career sportsman," Hunter's mum states.

"Yet he just was passionate about it."

Hunter's father recalls how his son "wasn't bothered about anything else" besides snooker as a young boy.

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on regulation tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from home play with great skill.

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

Quick Success: The Path to Glory

With his mother and father's requests to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as training came first, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the age of 14 to fully concentrate on building a career in the game.

It paid off in spades. Within half a decade, their still-teenage son had won his maior professional trophy, the 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the involvement of exclusively the best, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': The Man Behind the Cue

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

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

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

Hunter's wife Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, 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, youthful appearance and candid way with the press, not to mention his considerable talent, Hunter quickly became snooker's poster boy for the modern era.

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

Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience

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

Multiple stories from across the sporting world attest to the man's extraordinary commitment to honor obligations to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while enduring treatment.

Despite harsh reactions, Hunter continued to compete through the illness and received a tumultuous reception at The World Championship arena when he played at the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in October 2006, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its best-loved members.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Foundation for the Future: The Paul Hunter Foundation

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

The foundation he inspired, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to children all over the country.

The initiative was so successful that, according to reports, local youth crime rates in some areas dropped significantly.

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

The Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a significant coaching programme, which has provided 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

Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet 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 talk than him not be mentioned at all."

While he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have gone on to lift snooker's top honor is etched into the sport's history.

The Masters, the competition with which he is most synonymous, commences 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 personality, as much his spectacular skill with a cue, that will ensure he is forever celebrated.