Karen Corr
 | |
| Born |
10 November 1969 Ballymoney, Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| Sport country |
 Ireland |
| Professional | 1990– |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  United Kingdom | ||
| Women's Nine-ball | ||
| World Games | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2001 Akita | Individual |
Karen Corr is a professional billiards player representing Northern Ireland, and was inducted in the BCA Hall of Fame in 2012.
Early life
Karen was born 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, Karen won her first Women's World Snooker Championship. She would go on to repeat that feat 1991, 1995 and 1996. She also won three World English Billiards championships.
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 Karen to look elsewhere for profitable tournament play. Fellow snooker player Julie Kelly told her about the WPBA Tour in the United States. Karen moved to America in 1998 to see how well she could play pool. After winning ten consecutive qualifying events, she was now able to compete in the professional WPBA events.
By the end of 1998, Karen was ranked #24. At the end of 1999, she soared through the rankings, all the way to # 4. By the end of 2000, she was ranked 2nd in the world.
Karen 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. 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, Karen 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, Karen found herself at the top, the No. 1 ranked player in the World and remained there for 2 years.
Since then, Karen has been a dominant force in women’s pool. The crowning achievement of her career came on October 26, 2012, when Karen was formally inducted into the Greatest Player wing of the BCA Hall of Fame. 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.”
The one crowning glory left for her to achieve is the World 9-ball Championship; she has been runner-up 6 times.
Titles and achievements[1]
Member – BCA Hall of Fame (Greatest Player Category)
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
World Snooker Championships
- 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996
World English Billiards Championships
- 1997, 1998, 1999
References
- ↑ "Conversations with Karen Corr in February, 2013".