'Paul was fun': Honoring the game's lost great a score of years on.

All Paul Hunter always wished to do was compete on the baize.

A love for the game, sparked at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his home's central table in the city of Leeds, would culminate in a life on the tour that saw him claim six major trophies in a six-year span.

The present year marks a score of years since the popular Hunter passed away 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 enduring mark on the game and those who followed his career endure as vibrant now.

'The game was his life': A Childhood Obsession

"We could not have predicted in a lifetime Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Kristina Hunter recalls.

"But he just was passionate about it."

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

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

After repeatedly pleading with his dad to take him to a community venue to play on professional-standard tables at the age of eight, the aspiring talent made the leap from miniature games with aplomb.

His raw skill would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the area of Yeadon.

Metoric Ascent: A Star is Born

With his parents' pleas to do his homework increasingly falling on deaf ears as the game dominated, his parents took the "chance" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully focus on carving out a career in the game.

It was a resounding success. Within half a decade, their adolescent had won his maior professional trophy, the Welsh Open of 1998.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring only the top competitors, Hunter was victorious a trio of times, in consecutive years.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

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

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

"Upon meeting him you'd like him," Kristina states. "Paul was fun. He'd make you relaxed."

Hunter's partner Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "incredible, lively, and kind spirit" who was "witty, generous" and "never the first to depart from the party".

With his effortless appeal, boyish good looks 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 dubbed 'The Snooker World's Beckham'.

A Brave Battle: Illness and Resilience

In 2005, a year that should have marked the peak of his powers, Hunter was diagnosed with cancer and would later undergo aggressive treatment.

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

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a rapturous applause at The World Championship arena when he competed in the World Championships that year.

When he passed away in the mid-2000s, snooker's close-knit fraternity lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It is tragic," Kristina says. "I wouldn't wish any mum and dad to suffer such a loss."

An Enduring Legacy: Giving Back

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in high society but in snooker halls and clubs across the UK.

The Paul Hunter Foundation, set up before his death, would provide no-cost coaching to youths all over the country.

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

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

The Foundation helped establish the basis for a huge coaching programme, which has provided playing opportunities to children globally.

"Paul would have loved 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

Historic matches 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 anytime," Kristina says. "It's wonderful!"

"We like to reminisce about Paul," she concludes. "Before it would be tears, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be mentioned at all."

Even though he never won the World Championship, the widespread belief that Hunter would have secured snooker's ultimate trophy is etched into the sport's history.

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

But for all his successes, a generation after his death it is Paul Hunter's personality, as much his dazzling snooker ability, that will ensure he is always remembered.