Karen Corr
Since March, Karen Corr has allowed opponents on the J. Pechauer Northeast 9-Ball an (unscientific) average of between two and three racks in match races to seven. Until two weeks ago, and on the weekend of August 1-2, only one opponent had chalked up more than four against her. China's Jia Li, the two-year reigning champion of the WPBA's Regional Tour Championships, pushed Corr to the double hill limit in the second round of the tour's fifth stop (July 18-19). Though she would go on to win six on the loss side, Li was defeated by tour director Linda Shea and denied a second shot at Corr.
On the weekend of August 1-2, in a $2,000-added event, hosted by Raxx Billiards in West Hempstead, NY (24 entrants), Li fought back through five matches on the loss side to face Corr in the finals. Corr won it to chalk up her sixth straight on the tour, but not before Li had brought her to the brink in their race to nine.
Corr gave up only seven racks over four games to get into the hot seat; starting with Borana Andoni (2), Fran Crimi (1), and, in a winners' side semifinal, Kia Sidbury (3). Briana Miller, in the meantime, having sent Jia Li to the loss side, double hill, in the third round, was giving up an average of three racks per game, and gave up just that many to Morgan Steinman in the other winners' side semifinal. Corr then sent Miller packing 7-1 and sat in the hot seat, waiting for Jia Li.
Li, in the meantime, started out in cruise control on the loss side, defeating Borana Andoni and Linda Shea by an aggregate score of 14-3 (all three to Andoni). She drew Sidbury, while Steinman drew Fran Crimi, who was coming off her own loss-side, cruise control performance 14-2 against Tina Scott and Nancy Kim (with the two).
Li's cruise control continued with a 7-1 victory over Sidbury. Crimi's came to a stop with a shutout by Steinman. Li's final two loss-side opponents tightened the screws a little bit. She gave up five racks to Steinman in the quarterfinals that followed, and then, Miller, for the second time this season, challenged her in the semifinals. Back in June, Miller had defeated Li 7-5 in the semifinals. This time, they hit double hill before Li prevailed for a shot at Corr.
It was the closest anybody had come to dethroning the undisputed 'queen' of the JPNEWT. But Corr held off a double hill challenge by Li to lock up her 6th win on the tour, her 11th, overall in two years.
