Following his superb run in last season's World Championship, Jones endured a difficult 2012–13 season. He could only win three matches in ranking event qualifiers all year, with his sole appearance in the main draw coming at the Shanghai Masters.&lt;ref name="2012/13"&gt;&lt;/ref&gt; He beat Jimmy White in qualifying and Lu Ning in the wildcard round, but was then defeated 5–2 by John Higgins in the first round. He fared better in the Players Tour Championship events, with his best result coming at the Paul Hunter Classic, where he had wins over Jimmy Robertson, Jak Jones and Li Yan, before losing 4–2 to compatriot Ryan Day. He finished 67th on the PTC Order of Merit. Jones could not repeat last season's run to The Crucible as he was beaten 10–9 by Liam Highfield in the third round of World Championship Qualifying. His disappointing year was reflected in the rankings as he dropped 11 places to finish world number 40.