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Women's World Snooker Championship
Tournament information
Venue	Raunds Cue Sports Club and Terry Griffiths Matchroom
City	Northamptonshire and Llanelli
Country	United Kingdom
Organisation	World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association
Format	Single elimination
Highest break	87 (Karen Corr)
Final
Champion	Karen Corr
Runner-up	Kelly Fisher
Score	6–3
	← 1995 1998 →

The 1997 World Women's Snooker Championship was a women's snooker tournament held in 1997.

Tournament summary

The tournament started as the 1996 World Championship, but due to delays in the scheduling of the later rounds, it became the 1997 Championship. It was promoted by Barry Hearn^[1] who had been promoting the Women's world championship since 1990.^[2] The defending champion was Karen Corr. There were 52 players who entered the tournament. Allison Fisher who had won the title seven times, most recently in 1994, did not enter as she has moved to the United States where she had embarked on a successful pool career. 1984 amateur champion and five-times runner-up Stacey Hillyard had retired from competition and so was another non-participant. The original schedule was for the quarter-finals onwards to be held in India, as they had been in 1994 and 1995,^[2] from 16 to 19 September 1996,^[3] but eventually the final rounds took place in Llanelli, with the semi-finals and final not happening until well into 1997.

This was the last women's world snooker championship to be held before the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association amalgamated with the WPBSA later in 1997.^[4]

Rounds 1 to 4

The tournament started as the 1996 World Championship. The first four rounds took place at Raunds Cue Sports Club, Northamptonshire, to decide the eight players that would go on to contest the quarter-finals onwards, which were expected to be played in Bombay in mid-September 1996. Defending champion Karen Corr won her first match without losing a frame but won only on the final black in the deciding frame of her match against Lynette Horsburgh. Second seed Kelly Fisher and 1995 runner-up Kim Shaw both won both of their matches 4–0. Mary Talbot, ranked 26th, was a surprising quarter-finalist, beating 7th seed Sarah Smith and 12th ranked player Helen Audus. The highest break in the main qualifying was a 77 by Ann-Marie Farren. A plate competition was held for players who did not qualify to the quarter-finals and was won by Horsburgh, who made a break of 100 in the first round of the plate competition.^[3]

Quarter-finals

Following postponements of the final stages and a lack of response from promoter Barry Hearn's partner in India, it was decided to hold the quarter-finals at the Terry Griffiths Matchroom, Llanelli, and they took place in November 1996. Corr whitewashed 1984 professional champion Mandy Fisher 4–0. Banks saw off 1987 champion Farren 4–2, and Lisa Quick beat Shaw 4–1. Fisher's match with Talbot was delayed due to Talbot's illness, with Fisher winning 4–1. Meanwhile, Hearn requested the termination of his contract with the WLBSA to promote the event in future.^[1]

Semi-finals and Final

The semi-finals and final were eventually scheduled to be held in Llanelli in mid-1997, following a continued lack of communication from Hearn's partner in India. Corr made the highest break of the competition, 87, and three other breaks over 30 in overcoming Banks 5–0. Quick won the first frame against Fisher, but no more, losing 1–5. The final between Corr and Fisher was closely contested until 3–3 but then Corr won three frames in a row to take her third world title. The tournament finished some eleven months after the start of the qualifying matches, and was the end of promoter Hearn's relationship with women's snooker that stretched back to 1990.^[2]

This was the last world championship to be held before the amalgamation of the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association with the WPBSA a few months later. The intention was that major finals for women should be played at the same venues as the men's events, for example the women's world championship final being held at the Crucible Theatre during the World Snooker Championship.^[4]

Results

Source: Snooker Scene^[1]^[2]^[3]

First round

At Raunds Cue Sports Club. Matches were best-of-7 frames.

	Score
Lynette Horsburgh	4–2	Zena Latcham
Kathy Parashis	4–1	Valerie Finnie
Clare Rodgers	4–0	Vicki Revell
Natalie Chatfield	4–0	Jane O'Neill

Second round to Final


Second round Best-of-7 frames Raunds Cue Sports Club		Third round Best-of-7 frames Raunds Cue Sports Club		Fourth round Best-of-7 frames Raunds Cue Sports Club		Quarter-finals Best-of-7 frames Terry Griffiths Matchroom		Semi-finals Best-of-9 frames Terry Griffiths Matchroom		Final Best-of-11 frames Terry Griffiths Matchroom



		Karen Corr	4

Maureen Twomey	4	Maureen Twomey	0
				Karen Corr	4
Mary Hawkes	2
				Lynette Horsburgh	3
		Emma Bonney	1

Beverley Hipwell	0	Lynette Horsburgh	4
						Karen Corr	4
Lynette Horsburgh	4
						Mandy Fisher	0
		Caroline Walch	3

Sue Parrish	4	Sue Parrish	4
				Sue Parrish	2
Lisa Ingall	2
				Mandy Fisher	4
		Mandy Fisher	4

Jan Hughes	4	Jan Hughes	1
								Karen Corr	5
Marianne Lazarides	1
								June Banks	0
		June Banks	4

Sherron Audus	4	Sherron Audus	1
				June Banks	4
Greta Browne	3
				Dawn Wells	0
		Julie Billings	1

Dawn Wells	4	Dawn Wells	4
						June Banks	4
Jackie Stewart	0
						Ann-Marie Farren	2
		Michelle Brown	0

Valerie Van Bellinghen	0	Kathy Parashis	4
				Kathy Parashis	0
Kathy Parashis	4
				Ann-Marie Farren	4
		Ann-Marie Farren	4

Riitta Koskinen	4	Riitta Koskinen	0
										Karen Corr	6
Tracey Warren	3
										Kelly Fisher	3
		Kim Shaw	4

Julie Gillespie	4	Julie Gillespie	0
				Kim Shaw	4
Louise Leskevicius	0
				Jenny Poulter	0
		Jenny Poulter	4

Katie Henrick	0	Clare Rodgers	0
						Kim Shaw	1
Clare Rodgers	4
						Lisa Quick	4
		Julie Kelly	4

Martina Lumsden	4	Martina Lumsden	1
				Julie Kelly	1
Doreen Buckton	0
				Lisa Quick	4
		Lisa Quick	4

Gaye Jones	4	Gaye Jones	1
								Kelly Fisher	5
Tuija Tiihonen	0
								Lisa Quick	1
		Sarah Smith	3

Mary Talbot	4	Mary Talbot	4
				Mary Talbot	4
Nicola Barker	0
				Helen Audus	1
		Helen Audus	4

Rachel Ozier	w.o.	Rachel Ozier	0
						Mary Talbot	1
Anita Morra	scr.
						Kelly Fisher	4
		Laura Stoddard	4

Liz Jones	3	Natalie Chatfield	1
				Laura Stoddard	0
Natalie Chatfield	4
				Kelly Fisher	4
		Kelly Fisher	4

Lisa Gordon	4	Lisa Gordon	0

Sue Selby	1

Final

Final: Best-of-11 frames Terry Griffiths Matchroom, Llanelli
Karen Corr		6–3			Kelly Fisher
Frame	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Karen Corr 30+ Breaks	41 -	74 -	63 -	27 -	67 -	41 -	88 -	47 -	105 (33,58)
Kelly Fisher 30+ Breaks	53 -	32 -	49 (32)	71 (31)	43 -	58 -	52 -	25 -	3 -
Frames won (Corr first)	0–1	1–1	2–1	2–2	3–2	3–3	4–3	5–3	6–3
58		Highest break			32
1		50+ breaks
1		30+ breaks			2
Karen Corr wins the 1997 World Women's Snooker Championship

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "World title on hold". Snooker Scene. No. December 1996. Everton's News Agency. p. 37.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Karen Corr wins 1996 world title a little late". Snooker Scene. No. July 1997. Everton's News Agency. pp. 12–13.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Mary Talbot's passage to India". Snooker Scene. No. September 1996. Everton's News Agency. p. 14.
^ ^a ^b "Young Stevens silences Parrott". The Guardian. 24 October 1997. p. B11 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 6 December 2019.