Karen Corr

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Karen Corr
Karen Corr.jpg
Karen Corr (2009)
Born (1969-11-10) 10 November 1969 (age 55)
Ballymoney, Northern Ireland
Sport countryUlster Banner.svg  Northern Ireland
NicknameThe Irish Invader [1]
Professional1990
Medal record
Women's Nine-ball
Representing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
World Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2001 Akita Individual

Karen Corr (born 10 November 1969) is a Northern Irish professional pool and former snooker and English billiards player. She began entering women's snooker tournaments at age 15 and went on to win the World Women's Snooker Championship three times and the World Women's Billiards Championship twice. In 1998, she moved to the United States to play pool professionally. She has won numerous tournaments and has been ranked number one on the WPBA Tour. She was inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame in 2012.

Contents

Early life

Corr was born on 10 November 1969 [2] in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland and spent her early childhood near Maghera. When she was 8 years old, her family moved to England. She loved watching snooker matches on television and joined a snooker club at the age of 14 with her dad and her brother. Her friends in Bourne saw that she had exceptional snooker skills and encouraged her to play in tournaments.

Snooker and pool career

At the age of 15, she entered her first tournament in Leicester. She continued to play in tournaments and rapidly became a top player on the women's tour. On the day after her 21st birthday, Corr won her first Women's World Snooker Championship. She would go on to repeat that feat in 1995 and 1997. She also won the World Women's Billiards Championship in 1998 and 1999. [3]

A recession in the mid-1990s and increased restrictions on tobacco sponsorship caused prize funds to rapidly decrease for snooker events outside the World Championship. This forced Corr to look elsewhere for profitable tournament play. Fellow snooker player Julie Kelly told her about the WPBA Tour in America. Corr moved to the U.S. in 1998 to see how well she could play pool. After winning ten consecutive qualifying events, she was able to compete in the professional WPBA events.

By the end of 1998, Corr was ranked #24. At the end of 1999, she was ranked # 4. [1] By the end of 2000, she was ranked 2nd in the world.

Corr won her first WPBA Classic Tour title, "The 2000 Cuetec Cues Players Championship" in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. She completed that year with two more Classic tour titles. [4] She also won the "All Japan Championship" held in Osaka, Japan. She placed second in the "WPA Women's World Championship" and in the "UCC World Ladies Championship" held in Tokyo, Japan.

In 2001, she became the first person to win every WPBA Classic tour event in the same season since they began. She won the silver medal at the World Games and placed 2nd at the World Championships. Before 2001 ended, Corr found herself at the top, the No. 1 ranked player in the World [1] and remained there for 2 years.

Since then, she has been a leading player in women's pool. The crowning achievement of her career came on 26 October 2012, when Corr was formally inducted into the Greatest Player wing of the BCA Hall of Fame. [1] Her Hall of Fame induction announcement stated "her quick rise to the top and her consistent dominance on American soil has earned her the only spot in this year's BCA Hall of Fame class." [4]

She has been runner-up at the World 9-ball Championship four times.

Titles and achievements

Snooker

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponentScoreRef.
Winner 11990 Women's World Snooker Championship Stacey Hillyard 7–4 [5] [6]
Runner-up 21991 Women's World Snooker Championship Allison Fisher 2–8 [7]
Winner 31994WLBSA Halstead Ladies Classic Allison Fisher 3–2 [8]
Winner 41994WLBSA Pontins Spring Bowl Lisa Quick 4–1 [9]
Winner 51995 Women's World Snooker Championship Kim Shaw 6–3 [10]
Winner 61995WLBSA Pontins British Ladies Ann-Marie Farren 4–1 [11]
Winner 71995WLBSA West Norwood Open Kelly Fisher 3–1 [12]
Winner 81996WLBSA Academy Fork Lift Kelly Fisher 4–2 [13]
Winner 91996WLBSA Connie Gough Memorial Kim Shaw 3–2 [14]
Winner 101996WLBSA James Brooks Classic Kelly Fisher 3–0 [15]
Winner 111997 Women's World Snooker Championship Kelly Fisher 6–3 [16]
Winner 121997WLBSA Barratts Club National Kelly Fisher 3–2 [17]
Winner 131997WLBSA Ladies National Kelly Fisher 4–2 [18]
Winner 141997WLBSA UK Championship Lynette Horsburgh 4–3 [19]
Winner 151997WLBSA Pontins UK Championship
Winner 161997WLBSA Scottish Masters Kelly Fisher 4–2 [20]
Runner-up 171998 Women's World Snooker Championship Kelly Fisher 0–5 [21]
Runner-up 181999 Women's World Snooker Championship Kelly Fisher 2–4 [22]

English billiards

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponentScoreRef.
Winner 11998 World Ladies Billiards Championship Emma Bonney 403–219 [3]
Winner 21999 World Ladies Billiards Championship Kelly Fisher 354–276 [3]

Pool

YearTournamentVenue
1999New York State 9-Ball ChampionshipBinghamton, NY
2000 All Japan Championship 9-BallOsaka, JAP
2000Super Billiards Expo Players ChampionshipValley Forge, PA
2000Northeast 9-Ball TourPortland, ME
2000WPBA Baltimore ClassicBaltimore, MD
2000WPBA Affinix Software Los Angeles OpenLos Angeles, CA
2001Super Billiards Expo Players ChampionshipValley Forge, PA
2001WPBA Spring ClassicAlpine, CA
2001WPBA Charlotte ClassicCharlotte, NC
2001WPBA Fall ClassicAlbuquerque, NM
2001WPBA Midwest ClassicVilla Park, IL
2001WPBA National ChampionshipLincoln City, OR
2002WPBA Spring ClassicAlpine, CA
2002BCA Open 9-Ball ChampionshipLas Vegas, NV
2002WPBA National ChampionshipMiami, FL
2003Super Billiards Expo Players ChampionshipValley Forge, PA
2003BCA Open 9-Ball ChampionshipLas Vegas, NV
2003 WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship Albuquerque, NM
2003WPBA Canadian OpenWindsor, Ontario
2004BCA Open 9-Ball ChampionshipLas Vegas, NV
2004WPBA National ChampionshipLincoln City, OR
2005WPBA Southeast ClassicHollywood, FL
2006 Tournament of Champions Uncasville, CT
2006WPBA Carolina ClassicRocky Mount, NC
2006WPBA Florida ClassicHollywood, FL
2006WPBA Midwest ClassicPeoria, IL
2007 Tournament of Champions Uncasville, CT
2007WPBA Midwest ClassicNorman, OK
2007BCA Open 9-Ball ChampionshipLas Vegas, NV
2008 Tournament of Champions Uncasville, CT
2014Super Billiards Expo Players ChampionshipEdison, NJ
2016Super Billiards Expo Players ChampionshipOaks, PA
2016NAPT Inaugural 10-Ball InvitationalHerndon, Va
2017 WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship Pittsburgh, PA
2017NAPT Summer 10-Ball ClassicGrayslake, IL
2017NAPT Freedom ClassicDickson City, Pa
2017Desert ShootoutLas Vegas, Ne
2018Super Billiards Expo Players ChampionshipOaks, PA
2018Coupe du Quebec Pro EventQuebec, CAN
2019Coupe du Quebec Pro EventQuebec, CAN

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References

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  2. "Karen Corr". azbilliards.com. AZBilliards. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 "World Ladies Billiards Champions". world-billiards.com. World Billiards Ltd. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Karen Corr Earns Enshrinement in Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame" (PDF). bca-pool.com. Billiard Congress of America. 19 July 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  5. "Hall of Fame: 1990 World Championship". wlbsa.wytech.co.uk. World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
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  7. Yates, Phil (11 November 1991). "Fisher confirms her status as champion – Snooker". The Times. London via NewsBank. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
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  14. "1996 Connie Gough Memorial - Results". snookerscores.net. World Women's Snooker. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
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