Thompson was seeded 10th for the 2011 BDO World Championship, and once again reached the quarter-final stage. He beat German teenager Arno Merk 3-1 in the first round, and Alan Norris 4-2 in the second round, but in the quarter-final he lost 5-4 to Jan Dekker having led 3-0 and 4-2 in sets and missing nine darts at doubles to win the match. Had Thompson won the match and gone on to win his semi-final as well, he would have played the final on his 46th birthday.