The 2011 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 123rd staging of the All-Ireland championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The draw for the 2011 fixtures took place on 7 October 2010. The championship began on 14 May and ended on 4 September 2011. Tipperary were the defending champions. Kilkenny secured the title with a 2-17 to 1-16 defeat of Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. This was their 33rd All-Ireland title, their eighth in twelve championship seasons. Teams A total of fourteen teams will contest the championship, including thirteen teams from the 2010 championship and one promoted team from the 2010 Christy Ring Cup. Laois, Carlow and Wexford were the first teams to exit the 2010 championship; however, there was no relegation play-off. They would all contest the 2011 championship. 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. Team summaries Stadia and locations Personnel and kits Managerial changes The Championship Format 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. Each match will be played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there will be a replay. If that match ends in a draw a period of extra time will be played, however, if both sides are still level at the end of extra time another replay will take place. Munster Championship Quarter-final: (1 match) This will be a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Munster. The losing team enters the All-Ireland qualifiers while the winners advance to the semi-finals. Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joins the other three Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advance to the final while the two losing teams enter the All-Ireland qualifiers. Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game. The winning team advances to the All-Ireland semi-final while the losing team advances to the All-Ireland quarter-final. Leinster Championship Preliminary Round: (2 matches) These will be two matches between four of the 'weaker' teams from the province. The two winning teams advance to the quarter-finals while the two losing