Laois, Carlow and Wexford were the first teams to exit the 2010 championship; however, there was no relegation play-off.

2010 Christy Ring Cup champions Westmeath secured direct promotion to the championship.

The team made their top flight return after being relegated at the end of the 2006 championship.

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 2011 will be run on a provincial basis as usual.

It will be a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces - there will be no seeds.

The losing team enters the All-Ireland qualifiers while the winners advance to the semi-finals.

Live games, on demand re-runs and match highlights were also carried on the RTÉ website.