2010 Christy Ring Cup

The 2010 Christy Ring Cup was the sixth edition of the Christy Ring Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005 and is the second-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier trophy). It is contested by eight GAA county teams ranked 14–21 in the 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

Carlow were the reigning champions; however, they did not get the chance to defend their title due to their promotion to the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship.

The 2010 Christy Ring Cup final was held at Croke Park, Dublin.

Westmeath defeated Kerry by a point.^[1]

Team changes

Promoted from the Nicky Rackard Cup

The tournament has a double elimination format - each team will play at least two games before being knocked out.

The eight teams play four Round 1 matches.
- The winners in Round 1 advance to Round 2A.
- The losers in Round 1 go into Round 2B.
There are two Round 2A matches.
- The winners in Round 2A advance to the semi-finals.
- The losers in Round 2A go into the quarter-finals.
There are two Round 2B matches.
- The winners in Round 2B advance to the quarter-finals.
- The losers in Round 2B go into the relegation playoff.
  - The losers of the relegation playoff are relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup for 2011.
There are two quarter-final matches between the Round 2A losers and Round 2B winners.
- The winners of the quarter-finals advance to the semi-finals.
- The losers of the quarter-finals are eliminated.
There are two semi-final matches between the Round 2A winners and the quarter-final winners.
- The winners of the semi-finals advance to the final.
- The losers of the semi-finals are eliminated.
The winners of the final win the Christy Ring Cup for 2010 and are promoted to the Liam MacCarthy Cup 2011.