Lewis lost in the last 32 of the UK Open 7–9 to Wes Newton, and in the final of the seventh Players Tour Championship of the season, 3–6 to Ronnie Baxter. Lewis entered the World Matchplay knowing that if he could progress further than Phil Taylor he would move to world number one for the first time. He began with a 10–0 whitewash of Robert Thornton and a 13–7 victory over Andy Smith, but was then beaten 12–16 by Terry Jenkins in the quarter-finals to remain second in the world. In September, Lewis won his first individual title since his World Championship win at the fourth European Tour event, the German Darts Masters in Stuttgart. He dropped just three legs in his first three games before beating Tony West 6–3 in the quarter-finals and James Wade 6–1 in the semis to face occasional practice partner Ian White in the final. Lewis won 6–3 to claim his first European Tour title. After losing his opening two games of the Grand Slam of Darts to Tony O'Shea and John Part, Lewis failed to qualify from his group for the fourth time in the six stagings of the tournament. After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Lewis finished 11th on the Order of Merit to qualify for the Players Championship Finals. Lewis had spent 24 hours with his wife Sarah as she went into labour, before travelling to the tournament in Minehead to face Richie Burnett. With Lewis leading 5–3, the pair were involved in a heated argument on stage as Burnett accused him of clicking his darts while he was throwing. Lewis took out 116 in the next leg to take the match, before returning to Stoke where Sarah gave birth to a boy in the early hours of the morning. Lewis once again returned to Minehead to face Taylor on only five hours sleep in 48 hours and lost 7–10.