Richardson qualified for his second World Championship by finishing 43rd on the 2012 ProTour Order of Merit, claiming the 12th of 16 spots that were available for non-qualified players. He threatened to cause a major shock for the second successive year by taking the opening set of his first round match against Andy Hamilton, but went on to lose 3–1 as he missed three darts to extend the match to a deciding set. Richardson failed to qualify for the 2013 UK Open as he finished 142nd on the Order of Merit, outside of the top 96 who claimed their places. His best result of 2013 was in the fifth Players Championship where he was edged out 6–5 by Peter Wright in the last 16.