The 2012 Christy Ring Cup was the eighth season of the

Christy Ring Cup The Christy Ring Cup () is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. Originally introduced as a second-tier competition, it is currently the third tier overall in the inter-county hurling championship system. Eac ...

since its establishment in 2005.

Teams

A total of eight teams contested the Christy Ring Cup, including seven sides from the 2011 Christy Ring Cup and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, who were promoted as champions of the 2011 Nicky Rackard Cup.

again ended the season as champions, this time in the Christy Ring Cup, thus securing promotion to the top tier of hurling, the All-Ireland Championship, in 2013. While both

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

and

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

had failed to win any of their (two) games in the 2011 Christy Ring Cup, Mayo retained their place in the 2012 edition with Armagh being relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup for 2012 without a playoff game; Mayo had the longest tenure as a Christy Ring Cup member having competed in every season since the inaugural one in 2005 while Armagh had only joined the Christy Ring Cup in 2011, having won the previous year's

Nicky Rackard Cup The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is the fourth tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champion team in the Nicky Rackard Cup is promoted to the Christy Ring Cup, and the lowest finishin ...

Team summaries

Stadia and locations

Structure

The tournament has a

double elimination A double-elimination tournament is a type of elimination tournament competition in which a participant ceases to be eligible to win the tournament's championship upon having lost ''two'' games or matches. It stands in contrast to a single-elimina ...

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 are eliminated. *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 2012 and are promoted to the

Liam MacCarthy Cup The Liam MacCarthy Cup is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the main competition in the prehistoric sport of hurling. Based on the design of a ...

Teams

Team summaries

Stadia and locations

Structure

Fixtures

Round 1

Round 2A

Round 2B

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Top scorers

Season

Single game

References

External links