Burnett secured the first shock of the 2012 World Championships by defeating fellow countryman and number six seed, Mark Webster, 3–2 in the first round. He lost nine out of the first ten legs in his second round match to John Part and, although he did win a set, was beaten 1–4. He then teamed up with Webster for the World Cup and together they reached the semi-finals with wins over Croatia and South Africa. They could not reach the final however, as the English pair of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis won 1–3. In March he hit a nine-dart finish in the fourth UK Open Qualifier during a first round match against Michael Barnard. Burnett was later knocked out in the fourth round of the event by Dennis Priestley. He then made it to the quarter-finals of the Austrian Darts Open where he lost 3–6 to Raymond van Barneveld. Burnett lost 4–9 in the last 32 of the UK Open to Peter Wright. In the first round of the European Darts Open Burnett produced a stunning 121 average during a 6–2 win over Andy Jenkins, and went on to reach the semi-finals where he lost 4–6 to Raymond van Barneveld. At the World Matchplay, Burnett suffered a 5–10 defeat to James Wade in the first round. After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Burnett was 22nd on the Order of Merit, comfortably inside the top 32 who qualified for the Players Championship Finals. He was defeated by Adrian Lewis 3–6 in the first round.