- Karen Corr
Infobox Snooker player
Name = Karen Corr
Caption =
Born = Birth date and age|1969|11|10|df=y
Birthplace =Ballymoney
Nationality = Northern Irish (British)
Nickname = The Irish Invader
Professional = 1990–
World champ = 1990–1991, 1995–1996Karen Corr (born
10 November 1969 , inBallymoney ,Northern Ireland ) is a professional pool (and former prosnooker ) player. Nicknamed "the Irish Invader", Karen is currentlyClarifyme|date=March 2008 ranked the number 2 woman pool player in the world by theWomen's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA).She began her career in snooker at the age of 14 and won her first Ladies Snooker Championship in
England , when she was 15 years old. She moved to US in 1998, winning her firstWPBA Classic Tour title in 2000. By the end of 2001, she was ranked as the number 1 player.Early life
Born in Ballymoney, Karen was raised near
Maghera ,County Londonderry . At the age of 8, her parents moved toEngland where she eventually joined a snooker club and began her career in the sport at the age of 14.Karen was 15 when she entered her first women's amateur event in
Leicester, England . On the day after her 21st birthday, in 1990, she won her firstWomen's World Snooker Championship . Karen continued on to win additional World titles in '91, '95, and '97.Professional career
The ladies' snooker prize funds were never large enough for Karen to support herself financially. She was forced to work various jobs, including bartending, to enable herself to continue to play professionally. In 1997, she was invited to play in an exhibition tour throughout Australia and New Zealand with her friend, and fellow pro,
Julie Kelly . While on that tour, Julie told her about the tour in the US, and that she was going to play. Karen then decided to go also, but only during the snooker off-season.In June 1998, Karen moved to the United States and began playing pool. She was curious to see how she would do at pool. After winning 10 qualifying events in a row, she was able to enter WPBA pro events.
While in America, Corr and Kelly lived with Kelly's sisters in New Jersey, and then in Boston for a time, before finally settling in northeast
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania .Karen won her first
WPBA Classic Tour title at the 2000 Cuetec Cues Players Championship, inValley Forge, Pennsylvania . She completed that year with two more Classic Tour titles. She also won the All Japan Open Championship held inOsaka, Japan . She placed second in theWPA Women's World Championship and in the UCC World Ladies Championship held inTokyo, Japan .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. But, 2002 proved to be her most successful year to date.
Karen became the first person to win all six Classic Tour events in one year. She won the Silver Medal at the
World Games and placed 2nd at the World Championships.Nonspecific|date=July 2007 Before 2001 ended, Karen found herself at the top, the #1 ranked female player in the world, and remained there for 2 years.For 2007, she was ranked #5 in "Pool & Billiard Magazine"
' s "Fans' Top 20 Favorite Players" poll.Cite journal|title=The Survey Says...: "Pool & Billiard Magazine"' s 22nd Annual Player and Fan Poll|journal=Pool & Billiard Magazine|month=February|year=2008|volume=26|issue=2|issn=1049-2852|publisher=Sports Publications|location=Summerville, South Carolina |pages=p. 14|accessdate=2008-02-14]Titles and achievements
1990-1991
*World Snooker Champion1995-1996
*World Snooker Champion1997
*World English Billiards Champion
*World Snooker Champion1998
*N.E. Woman’s Tour Player of the Year
*World English Billiards Champion
*European Snooker Champion1999
*Billiard Digest Magazine's Rookie of the Year
*N.E. Woman’s Tour Player of the Year
*World English Billiards Champion2000
*2000 WPBA Los Angeles Open
*2000 WPBA Baltimore Shootout
*2000 WPBA Players Championship
*2000 Northeast Women's Tour Pennsylvania State 9-Ball Championship2001
*2001 WPBA National 9-Ball Championship
*2001 WPBA Midwest Classic
*2001 WPBA WPBA Fall Classic
*2001 WPBA Carolina Classic
*2001 WPBA Spring Classic
*2001 WPBA Players Championship
*2001 NEWT Tour Ladies' New Jersey State 9-Ball Championship
*2001 Women's New York State 9-Ball Championship
*2001 Pennsylvania State Ladies 9-Ball Championship2002
*2002 WPBA 9-Ball Championship
*2002 WPBA BCA 9-Ball Championship
*2002 WPBA Spring Classic
*2002 Women's New Jersey State 9-Ball Championship2003
*2003 WPBA Canadian Classic
*2003 WPBA U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
*2003 WPBA BCA 9-Ball Championship
*2003 Women's Pro Player Championship
*2003 Women's Maryland State 9-Ball Championship
*2003 Women's New Jersey State 9-Ball Championship
*2003 Women's New York State 9-Ball Championship2004
*2004 WPBA National 9-Ball Championship
*2004 WPBA BCA 9-Ball Championship2005
*2005 WPBA Florida Classic2006sect-stub|date=February 2008
*2006 WPBA Midwest Classic
*2006 WPBA Florida Classic
*2006 WPBA Carolina Women's Billiards Classic2007sect-stub|date=February 2008
* 2007 "Pool & Billiard Magazine" Fans' Top 20 Favorite Players, #5References
External links
* [http://www.karencorr.net/ Karen Corr Official Website]
* [http://www.insidepoolmag.com/pool-and-billiard-podcasts/pool-podcasts-and-videos/karen-corr-interview-on-xtreme-pressbox-200801135838.html Karen Corr on Xtreme Pressbox]
* [http://www.insidepoolmag.com/gallery2/v/Pool+Players/Karen+Corr/ Karen Corr image gallery]
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