Horne went one round better in the 1997 edition of the Thailand Open, exiting 2–5 to James Wattana in the last 32. The best performance of his career came at the 1997 World Championship; ranked 113th at the season's start, Horne defeated Barry Mapstone 10–5, the young Joe Perry 10–8, Tony Chappel 10–6, Mark King 10–6 and Steve James 10–7 to set up an all-Scottish encounter, in the first round at the Crucible Theatre, with John Higgins. In the event, Horne led Higgins 3–1 and 4–3, but lost the match 6–10.