At the UK Championship, Murphy defeated Ashley Hugill, Zhou Yuelong, and Ben Woollaston to reach the last 16, but then lost 4–6 to Marco Fu. In defence of his title at the Masters, he was knocked out in the first round by Mark Allen, losing 4–6. Murphy's only ranking title this season came at the World Grand Prix in March. With wins over Michael White, Martin Gould, Liang Wenbo, and Ding Junhui, he met Stuart Bingham in the final—a repeat of the previous year's World Championship final—and claimed the victory this time by winning 10–9. At the World Snooker Championship, Murphy suffered a shocking first-round exit, losing 8–10 to Anthony McGill.