In 2011, the tournament gets it’s new spot on the calendar. After all the Players Championships are played in a year, the final is played this same year. That means that in 2011 two editions are played, the 2010 and 2011.
In 2011, Justin Pipe is the best player on the floor in PDC, he is therefore seeded first for this tournament. Pipe will however not get beyond the second round, in which Mark Webster beats him. The 2011 edition is full of surprises. In the first round, the winner of 2009 is already out. Paul Nicholson loses to Steve Brown.
Round two really produces a lot of upsets. Phil Taylor loses in that round to Mervyn King, Gary Anderson to Kevin Painter and Raymond van Barneveld to Scott Rand. Eventually, Mark Webster and Kevin Painter will play the final after they both have some tough victories along the way. Painter beats Scott Rand in the semi-finals and Webster sinks Wes Newton. In the final Kevin Painter, who has been at the top for 18 years, finally wins his first major title. He beats Webster 13-9.