Hanyu then won the bronze medal at the 2011–12 Japan Championships, earning a spot on the Japanese team for the 2012 World Championships. In his senior Worlds debut, Hanyu was seventh in the short program but placed second in the free skate. He won the bronze medal overall with a total score of 251.06 points, behind gold medalist Patrick Chan of Canada and silver medalist, his teammate, Daisuke Takahashi of Japan.