Karen English of Owensboro started playing cornhole seven years ago.  Like most everyone else who has played the game, her first experience tossing cornhole bags onto a board happened in a yard somewhere.  But, Karen good really good at the game, really quickly.  A year later, she and her husband, Greg, were competing in weekly tournaments at Maloney's.  Now, she's the #1 ranked female player in Kentucky.  And she's ranked among the Top 5 female players in the world!

Karen English
Karen English
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In September of 2016, Karen joined the American Cornhole Association, a U.S.-based competitive league in which players travel and compete for prize money and points.  There's an existing regional tournament that is contested monthly in Evansville.  Karen routinely competes there as well as in additional tournaments in other states.  In cornhole, there are multiple tournaments annually that are considered "majors."  As a matter of fact, there's a major coming up this weekend in Tupelo, Mississippi.  Karen will be there vying for the title.

And she expects to fare very well.  Why wouldn't she?  Points accumulated through the year determine a player's seeding for the final tournament of the season.  That tournament is called The Worlds!  A player's best four majors and six best regional showings determine a player's seeding for that tournament.  Not only is Karen the top-ranked woman in Kentucky after winning the Ky State Cornhole Tournament last June, she's also ranked 3rd in the standings for the upcoming Worlds!  She and her partner, Charlie Kase, are ranked 32nd in doubles.

Karen may have started playing cornhole in the backyard.   Back then, it was a game.  Today, it's a sport.  And this Owensboro resident is showing out on the sport's biggest stages!

 

 

 

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