Robertson returned to form at the China Open by winning his seventh career ranking event. He advanced to the final by defeating Jimmy Robertson 5–0, Mark Allen 5–1, Marcus Campbell 5–2 and Stephen Maguire 6–5 (after fighting back from 2–4 down). He exacted revenge over Mark Selby for his 10–6 loss in the final of the Masters in January by beating the Englishman by the same scoreline, moving to world number two in the process. Despite therefore appearing to be in top form for the World Championship he lost to Robert Milkins 8–10 in the first round, saying afterwards that he should have gone out to win the match rather than getting too involved in safety. Robertson finished the season ranked world number two for the second time in his career.