[4] Invented in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India,[5] the sport was popular in Great Britain.

[6] In modern times it has been played worldwide, especially in East and Southeast Asian nations such as China, Hong Kong and Thailand.

[9] The 32 players were selected for the event using the snooker world rankings and a pre-tournament qualification competition.

[13][14] Australian Neil Robertson was the defending champion, having defeated Graeme Dott 18–13 in the previous year's final.

[23] The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[24][25] The first round was played from 16 to 21 April as the best of 19 frames held over two sessions.

[27] Trump, having recently won the 2011 China Open, commented "I'm on a high at the moment and I don't want it to finish.

[29][30] Both Barry Hawkins and Rory McLeod reached the second round of the World Championship for the first time.

[31][32] Ronnie O'Sullivan attempted to withdraw from the event one week before it started, but later, when asked for a written confirmation, changed his decision.

[33] He compiled his 100th century break at the venue in his first round match against Dominic Dale, as he won 10–2.

[34][35] Previous winner Graeme Dott led Mark King 7–3, but was reduced to a 7–6 lead.

[36] Seven-time winner Hendry defeated Joe Perry 10–9 on a deciding frame, but hinted that he might retire after the event.

[37] In total, five out of the sixteen seeded players lost their first round matches: Neil Robertson, Maguire, Walden, Marco Fu and Peter Ebdon.

[48] Trump, rated an 80–1 outsider at the beginning of the tournament, defeated previous year's runner up Dott 13–5 to reach the semi-finals.

[49][50] Ding won his match 13–10 against Selby to become the third Asian player to reach the semi-finals of the world championship, following James Wattana and Fu.

I just didn't take them", whilst Higgins suggested that O'Sullivan missing was the only way he could have won the match.

Trump defeated Ding 17–15 to become the second youngest player (after Hendry in 1990) to reach the final of the event.

[54] Trump also reached his second consecutive ranking final after winning the China Open at the start of the month.

[55] In China, the second session of the match drew a peak audience of nearly 30 million viewers and averaging over 19 million, with the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association claiming it was the highest rated sports programme of 2011 up to that point;[56] however, the Women's Tennis Association claimed that the women's singles final of the Australian Open held earlier in the year drew an audience of 60 million viewers on Chinese television.

in reference to the News of the World allegations the previous year of match fixing, for which the heckler was later ejected from the venue.

[62][63] Ted Lowe, BBC commentator for many years and the deviser of the long-running snooker programme Pot Black, died at the age of 90 on the morning of 1 May.

[70][71][72] The draw for the first round took place on 21 March 2011, one day after the Players Tour Championship Finals.