The 2012 Welsh Open saw Burns qualify for his second ranking event, as he defeated Jack Lisowski 4–1 before receiving a walkover due to the withdrawal of Jamie Cope. At the main venue in Newport, he lost in the last 32 to 2010 World Champion Neil Robertson 1–4. Burns also had a very good season in the minor-ranking Players Tour Championship events, with his best finish coming at the fifth European Tour Event, where he beat the likes of Marcus Campbell and Liang Wenbo, but then lost to Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals. He also reached the last 16 in two other events which helped him finish 35th on the PTC Order of Merit, just outside the top 26 who qualified for the Finals. Burns beat Joel Walker 10–8 in the first round of World Championship Qualifying, but his season ended when he was defeated 2–10 by Yu Delu in the following round. Burns was awarded the Rookie of the Year Award