Murphy reached the final of the China Championship in August, with victories over Zhang Anda, Ken Doherty, Anthony Hamilton, Stephen Maguire, Zhou Yuelong, and Ali Carter, but he was defeated 5–10 by Luca Brecel in the final. Later that month, he reached the second ranking tournament final of the season, the Paul Hunter Classic, this time losing 2–4 to Michael White. In November, he won the invitational Champion of Champions tournament for the first time, beating Mark King, White, and Brecel on the way to the final, before claiming a 10–8 victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan. The pair faced each other again in the final of the UK Championship in December, but this time Murphy lost 5–10.