Karen Corr

Karen Corr (born 10 November 1969) is a professional pool and former snooker and English billiards player representing Northern Ireland, and was inducted in the BCA Hall of Fame in 2012.

Karen Corr
Karen Corr (2009)
Born (1969-11-10) 10 November 1969
Ballymoney, Northern Ireland
Sport country Northern Ireland
NicknameThe Irish Invader[1]
Professional1990–
Medal record
Women's Nine-ball
Representing  Great Britain
World Games
2001 Akita Individual

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 into her first tournament in Leicester and never looked back. Bolstered with confidence, she continued to play in tournaments and rapidly became a top–notch snooker player supported by her family. 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 the United States. Corr moved to America 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 Open 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

Pool

Member – BCA Hall of Fame (Greatest Player Category)[1]

WPBA Tournament Championships

  • 2000 WPBA Super Billiards Expo – Valley Forge, PA
  • 2000 WPBA Baltimore Classic – Baltimore, MD
  • 2000 WPBA Affinix Software Los Angeles Open – Los Angeles, CA
  • 2001 WPBA Cuetec Cues Players Championship – Valley Forge, PA
  • 2001 WPBA Spring Classic – Alpine, CA
  • 2001 WPBA Charlotte – Charlotte, NC
  • 2001 WPBA Fall Classic – Albuquerque, NM
  • 2001 WPBA Midwest Classic – Villa Park, IL
  • 2001 WPBA Nationals – Lincoln City, OR
  • 2002 WPBA Spring Classic – Alpine, CA
  • 2002 BCA Open 9-Ball Championships Women's Division – Las Vegas, NV
  • 2002 WPBA Nationals – Miami, FL
  • 2003 Women's Pro Player Championship – Valley Forge, PA
  • 2003 BCA Open 9-Ball Championships Women's Division – Las Vegas, NV
  • 2003 WPBA US Open 9-Ball – Albuquerque, NM
  • 2003 WPBA Canadian Open – Windsor, Ontario
  • 2004 BCA Open 9-Ball Championships Women's Division – Las Vegas, NV
  • 2004 WPBA Nationals – Lincoln City, OR
  • 2005 WPBA Southeast Classic – Hollywood, FL
  • 2006 WPBA Carolina Classic – Rocky Mount, NC
  • 2006 WPBA Florida Classic – Hollywood, FL
  • 2006 WPBA Midwest Classic – Peoria, IL
  • 2007 WPBA Midwest Classic – Norman, OK
  • 2007 Enjoypool.com 9-Ball Championship Ladies Division – Las Vegas, NV

International championships

  • 2000 All-Japan Championship
  • 2006 Tournament of Champions – Uncasville, CT
  • 2007 Tournament of Champions – Uncasville, CT
  • 2008 Tournament of Champions – Uncasville, CT

Snooker
  • 1990 Women's World Snooker Championship[5]
  • 1991 WLBSA World Snooker Championship runner-up
  • 1994 WLBSA Halstead Ladies Classic
  • 1994 WLBSA Pontins Spring Bowl
  • 1995 WLBSA Pontins British Ladies
  • 1995 WLBSA West Norwood Open
  • 1995 WLBSA World Snooker Championship
  • 1996 WLBSA Academy Fork Lift
  • 1996 WLBSA Connie Gough Memorial
  • 1996 WLBSA James Brooks Classic
  • 1997 WLBSA Barrats Club National
  • 1997 WLBSA Ladies National
  • 1997 WLBSA UK Championship
  • 1997 WLBSA Pontins UK Championship
  • 1997 WLBSA Scottish Masters
  • 1997 WLBSA World Snooker Championship
  • 1998 WLBSA British Open
  • 1998 WLBSA Welsh Open
  • 1998 WLBSA Scottish Championship

English billiards
  • 1998 WLBSA World English Billiards Championship
  • 1999 WLBSA World English Billiards Championship

References
  1. "Hall of Fame Inductees, 2011-2018". bca-pool.com. Billiard Congress of America. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  2. "Karen Corr". azbilliards.com. AZBilliards. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  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. "Karen Corr Earns Enshrinement in Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame" (PDF). bca-pool.com. Billiard Congress of America. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20120321215500/http://wlbsa.wytech.co.uk/node/59

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