He qualified for the main tour for the 2008–09 season by beating Adam Duffy 6–3 in the 2008 English Pro Ticket Tour Play-offs. In his début season, he reached the last 64 of the Royal London Watches Grand Prix, beating Lewis Roberts 5–2 and Barry Pinches 5–4 before losing 2–5 to Jimmy Michie; in the China Open, Lee beat Matthew Selt and Paul Davies before losing at the same stage to Gerard Greene. Having earned £5,000 in prize money, Lee finished the season ranked 83rd and was relegated from the main tour.