Ding did not progress past the second round of the first six ranking events of the 2012–13 season and found himself ranked world number 11 in December.&lt;ref name="2012/13"&gt;&lt;/ref&gt; He won the minor-ranking Scottish Open, defeating Anthony McGill in the final. Ding's form then improved; at the Welsh Open, he beat Mark King, Mark Allen and Robert Milkins to reach the semi-finals, where he was beaten 5–6 by Stuart Bingham. At the World Open, he was defeated 0–5 by John Higgins in the quarter-finals. His title at the Scottish Open formed part of the Players Tour Championship events; Ding finished sixth on the order of merit to qualify for the finals.