After three seasons ranked world number three, Murphy dropped to number seven for the 2010–11 season. He won the Wuxi Classic, a non-ranking tournament held in China, defeating Ding Junhui 9–8 after recovering from 2–8 down. He progressed to the semi-finals of the Paul Hunter Classic, the first European event of the season's Players Tour Championship minor-ranking series, but lost 2–4 to eventual winner Judd Trump. Murphy won the Brugge Open, the second European event of the series, defeating Matthew Couch 4–2 in the final. He then reached the final of the Ruhr Championship, but lost 2–4 against John Higgins. Murphy finished first on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit, but could not defend his Premier League Snooker title, as he lost 1–7 to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. He reached the semi-finals of the UK Championship, where he lost to eventual runner-up Mark Williams 8–9.