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.
Early life
Corr was born on 10 November 1969 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 father 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.
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. 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."
She has been runner-up at the World 9-ball Championship four times.
Titles and achievements
Snooker
{| class="wikitable"
! Outcome !! No. !! Year !! Championship !! Opponent !! Score !! Ref.
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 1 || 1990 || Women's World Snooker Championship || Stacey Hillyard || 7–4 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
|| 2 || 1991 || Women's World Snooker Championship || Allison Fisher || 2–8 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 3 || 1994 || WLBSA Halstead Ladies Classic || Allison Fisher || 3–2 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 4 || 1994 || WLBSA Pontins Spring Bowl || Lisa Quick || 4–1 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 5 || 1995 || Women's World Snooker Championship || Kim Shaw || 6–3 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 6 || 1995 || WLBSA Pontins British Ladies || Ann-Marie Farren || 4–1 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 7 || 1995 || WLBSA West Norwood Open || Kelly Fisher || 3–1 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 8 || 1996 || WLBSA Academy Fork Lift || Kelly Fisher || 4–2 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 9 || 1996 || WLBSA Connie Gough Memorial || Kim Shaw || 3–2 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 10 || 1996 || WLBSA James Brooks Classic || Kelly Fisher || 3–0 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 11 || 1997 || Women's World Snooker Championship || Kelly Fisher || 6–3 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 12 || 1997 || WLBSA Barratts Club National || Kelly Fisher || 3–2 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 13 || 1997 || WLBSA Ladies National || Kelly Fisher || 4–2 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 14 || 1997 || WLBSA UK Championship || Lynette Horsburgh || 4–3 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 15 || 1997 || WLBSA Pontins UK Championship || || ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 16 || 1997 || WLBSA Scottish Masters || Kelly Fisher || 4–2 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
|| 17 || 1998 || Women's World Snooker Championship || Kelly Fisher || 0–5 ||
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
|| 18 || 1999 || Women's World Snooker Championship || Kelly Fisher || 2–4 ||
|}
English billiards
{| class="wikitable"
! Outcome !! No. !! Year !! Championship !! Opponent !! Score !! Ref.
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 1 || 1998 || World Ladies Billiards Championship || Emma Bonney || 403–219 ||