He qualified for all but three of the other ranking events during the season. In the German Masters he led Ronnie O'Sullivan 4–0 in their best-of-nine frames first round match, before being defeated 5–4 having missed a pot in the sixth frame that would have left O'Sullivan requiring snookers to stay in the tournament. He finished the season by reaching the last 16 of the World Championship after defeating Stephen Lee 10–6 in the first round. There he trailed Jamie Jones 6–10 after two sessions, but rallied to level at 10–10, before Jones won three successive frames to take the match 13–10. Higginson finished the season ranked world number 18, meaning he had climbed 7 places during the year.