gave renewed hope to the "weaker" teams, as a defeat in the first round no longer meant the end of a county's All-Ireland ambitions. Since 2018, the All-Ireland SHC final is held on the third Sunday in August. Current format Current championship pyramid Teams from the first two levels are eligible for the All-Ireland series in that year. Teams from tiers 3 to 5 may reach tiers 1 and 2 through promotion. Championship There are twelve teams in the All-Ireland Championship. During the course of a championship season (from July to August) seven games are played comprising two preliminary quarter-finals, two quarter-finals, two semi-finals and a final. The championship is played as a single-elimination tournament. Qualification and progression (2022) Teams All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship appearances The three main ways to qualify for the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship are through Provincial Championships: Previously, the Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster champions qualified to the All-Ireland. Now the top 3 in Leinster and Munster qualify. All-Ireland Qualifiers (back door): Open for all teams knocked out of their provincial championships. Second Tier: Previously, the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship champions qualified to the All-Ireland. Now the Joe McDonagh Cup finalists qualify. As of 27 December 2022. Teams never to have qualified for the All-Ireland Non-Irish teams London became the first overseas team to compete in the All-Ireland Championship in 1900. For four consecutive years they were given a bye to the All-Ireland final where they played the "home" champions in the final proper. They won their only All-Ireland title in 1901. London returned to the All-Ireland Championship on a number of occasions between 1969 and 1996. In 1905 Lancashire and Glasgow entered the All-Ireland Championship at the quarter-final stage. Lancashire returned for one more championship campaign in 1913, whilst Glasgow returned for the 1910 and 1913 championships. New York fielded a team in an expanded All-Ireland Championship in 1996. Venues Attendances Stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for the GAA and for the teams involved. For the 2017 championship, the average attendances for the five games was 56,565 with a total aggregate attendance figure of 282,826. The 2017 figure represented the highest combined total for an All-Ireland Championship since 2012, when 294,079 fans attended six games, including a final replay between Kilkenny and Galway. The highest all-time aggregate attendance for the championship was 332,387 in 2007 when eight games were played.