'He was a joy': Honoring the game's departed star a score of years on.

Everything Paul Hunter truly desired to do was play snooker.

A competitive passion, sparked at the age of three with the help of a miniature snooker set on his family's living room table in the city of Leeds, would result in a professional career that saw him win half a dozen major wins in six years.

This year marks a score of years since the beloved Hunter passed away from cancer, mere days prior to his birthday marking 28 years.

But despite the tragic departure of a generational talent that went beyond the game he loved, his influence and memory on the game and those who were close to him remain as vibrant now.

'He just loved it': A Childhood Obsession

"It was impossible to foresee in a million years Paul would become a pro on the circuit," Hunter's mum states.

"But he just adored it."

Hunter's father recalls how his son "cared little for anything else" besides snooker as a child.

"He never stopped," he says. "He practiced every night after school."

After persistently asking his dad to take him to a local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the jump from table top snooker with aplomb.

His raw skill would be developed by the snooker legend Joe Johnson, from nearby Bradford, at a now former establishment in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon.

Rapid Rise: From Teenager to Champion

With his parents' pleas to do his homework often being ignored as practice took priority, his parents took the "risk" of taking Hunter out of school at the fourteen years old to fully concentrate on carving out 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 1998 Welsh Open.

Considered one of snooker's toughest events to win because of the lineup featuring elite players only, Hunter won three times, in the early 2000s.

'Paul was fun': His Enduring Personality

But for all his success on the table, away from the game Hunter's humble charm never deserted him.

"He was incredibly composed did Paul," Alan says. "He was liked by everybody."

"When encountering him you'd take to him," Kristina continues. "Paul was fun. He'd make you comfortable."

Hunter's widow Lindsey, with whom he had a daughter, describes him as an "wonderful, youthful, and fun personality" who was "witty, generous" and "always the last to leave the party".

With his natural likability, handsome features and candid way with the press, not to mention his prodigious ability, Hunter quickly became snooker's pin-up for the new millennium.

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

Courage in Crisis: Illness and Resilience

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 stories from across the professional tour attest to the man's extraordinary dedication to fulfill commitments to charity matches, tournaments, and media duties, all while going through treatment.

Despite difficult symptoms, Hunter played on through the illness and received a standing ovation at The famous Sheffield venue when he turned out for the World Championships that year.

When he succumbed in October 2006, snooker's tight community lost one of its most popular brothers.

"It's awful," Kristina says. "No parent should experience any mum and dad to go through that pain."

A Lasting Impact: Giving Back

Hunter's true legacy would be felt not in palaces and castles but in community venues across the UK.

The charity in his name, set up before his death, would provide accessible training to youths all over the country.

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

"The goal was for a program to help provide a positive outlet," one coach said.

The Foundation helped pave the way for a major coaching programme, which has extended playing opportunities to children internationally.

"It would have thrilled him what we've done with the sport and where it is today," a chairman in the sport stated.

Always Remembered: A Lasting Presence

Historic matches of their son's matches via the internet help his parents stay "close to him".

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

"We are happy to speak about Paul," she adds. "Initially it was painful, but I'd rather somebody remember him than him not be spoken of."

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

The Masters, the competition with which he is forever linked, begins later this month. The winner will lift the memorial cup.

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