Initially Painter suffered an indifferent 2011. At the 2011 PDC World Championship, he was defeated soundly in the first round by Brendan Dolan. At the 2011 World Matchplay, Painter revealed that he had received laser eye surgery before the tournament to improve his game, he also stated that he had hit a nine dart finish after 10 minutes of practise with his improved vision. However, in the opening night of the tournament, he led reigning world champion Adrian Lewis for most of the match, but missed six doubles that would have won him the match, and subsequently lost by 14 legs to 12.