Akani enjoyed another good showing at the 2018 UK Championship, defeating Eden Sharav and James Cahill 6-5, and winning 6-2 against Jak Jones to reach the last 16 for the second year running, where he lost 6-2 to Stuart Bingham. His next win at a ranking event came at the Shoot-Out, where he defeated Lyu Haotian and Billy Joe Castle before losing in the third round to amateur player Ryan Davies. Akani finished the season by failing to qualify for the 2019 World Championship, losing in the second round of qualifying 10-5 to Robert Milkins. He ended the season 52nd in the Snooker world rankings.