Farren started playing aged seven, on a 4 ft by 2 ft snooker table that her father Hugh bought her. She left Chilwell Comprehensive School with one O-level, having prioritized snooker above her studies, and went into snooker as a career. She prepared for the 1987 world championship by practicing on a £4,000 table her father installed for her in a specially built room in the garden.[3]
56 players participated in the 1987 tournament. Farren progressed through to the final, where she played Stacey Hillyard. Farren achieved a 5–1 victory to take the prize of £3,500 and the trophy, plus a double magnum of champagne that she was not old enough to drink, being only 16 years and 48 days old at the time.[1] She was the second-youngest champion, the youngest being her beaten opponent Hillyard, who had won at the age of 15 in 1984.[4][3]
Farren was runner-up in the world championship in 1988 and 1989, losing both times to Allison Fisher, who was regarded as the dominant player of the era.[1]
^ abcdSmart, Andy (21 April 2010). "Nottingham Evening Post: Ann-Marie was world snooker champion at 16". Nottingham Post.
^Acteson, Steve (16 October 1987). "Snooker: Farren wins world title after Fisher freezes". The Times – via NewsBank.
^Acteson, Steve (13 October 1990). "A motley cast of hundreds waiting for the cue – Snooker". The Times – via NewsBank.
^Acteson, Steve (16 October 1987). "Farren wins world title after Fisher freezes". The Times (London). p. 38 – via The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
