A total of thirteen teams competed in the championship, with Tipperary unseating the four-time defending champions Kilkenny by 4-17 to 1-18 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.

'The Cats' were installed as the bookies' favourites to retain the All-Ireland title for an unprecedented fifth successive occasion.

In 2007, they surpassed their greatest rivals Cork at the top of the all-time roll of honour, while in 2009 the team equalled the seemingly unbeatable record of four All-Ireland titles in-a-row.

Many believed that they had the beating of Kilkenny in the previous year's All-Ireland final, however, 'the Cats' pulled away in the last ten minutes to seal the victory.

Perennial hopefuls Galway entered the championship as the newly crowned National Hurling League champions and were also seen as a stumbling block on Kilkenny's march to immortality.

'The Rebels' defeated both Kilkenny and Tipperary in the group stages and finished the campaign as runners-up.

Similarly, Cork enjoyed a trouble-free winter and would enter the championship without any off-field controversy.

Preliminary Round (1 match): the five teams who fail to reach a provincial semi-final will enter the qualifiers at this stage.

All-Ireland Series Quarter-finals: (2 matches) The beaten Munster and Leinster finalists will play the winners of the Phase 3 qualifiers.