Richardson caused one of the biggest upsets in the history of the PDC World Championship by beating five-time World Champion, Raymond van Barneveld, 3–0 in the first round of the 2012 Championship. Van Barneveld led both the first and third sets 2–0 and had six darts at a double to win the third, but Richardson hit two 145 finishes to break Barneveld's throw in both sets. Richardson stated afterwards that the victory was "an absolute dream". He then faced Belgian Kim Huybrechts in the second round, but couldn't find the form he showed in the first round as he was beaten 4–1. In April, he earned a place in the Austrian Darts Open in Vienna by defeating Stuart Kellett in the UK qualifier. He received a bye through the first round after Adrian Lewis pulled out of the event and then beat Peter Wright 6–3. He saw off Michael van Gerwen in round three, before losing 6–3 to Dave Chisnall in the quarter-finals. He also reached the German Darts Masters and defeated Wright 6–3 once more in the first round in Stuttgart. Richardson played Wes Newton in round two and lost 6–4.