Due to non-entries among the top 16 players, Higginson was automatically seeded into the venue stages of first two major ranking events of the 2012–13 season, Wuxi Classic and Australian Open, only to be beaten on both occasions by Robert Milkins and Ryan Day respectively. He was then whitewashed by Steve Davis in the qualifying for Shanghai Masters, making it three consecutive first round defeats for him. Higginson broke the streak by beating David Gilbert to reach the main draw of the International Championship, but was beaten 0–6 by Shaun Murphy in the first round at the venue in Chengdu, China.&lt;ref name="2012/13"&gt;&lt;/ref&gt; He suffered yet another whitewash in UK Championship qualifying, losing 0–6 to Liang Wenbo, and as a result fell to No. 29 in the world rankings. Higginson enjoyed more success in the minor-ranking Players Tour Championship events, reaching the semi-finals in Event One and European Tour Event Five; in the latter tournament he lost 3–4 to Anthony McGill on a respotted black, despite having been 3–1 ahead at one point and his opponent having needed two snookers in the decider. Higginson went on to finish 13th on the PTC Order of Merit to qualify for the Grand Final for the third year in a row.