O'Sullivan reached the final of the invitational Hong Kong Masters after defeating John Higgins and Judd Trump in final frame deciders, before falling to Neil Robertson. In October, after defeating John Higgins 4–3 in a closely fought last 16 contest at the English Open, O'Sullivan romped through the final stages to capture the title, defeating Kyren Wilson 9–2 in the final with a pot success of 98% in the final. O'Sullivan reached his fourth final in five years at the invitational Champion of Champions, compiling his 900th career total century break along the way. He was defeated by Shaun Murphy 8–10, after fighting back from 5–9 down. At the very next tournament though, he won the Shanghai Masters 10–3 against Judd Trump in the final. This was his first title in China since the 2009 Shanghai Masters.