However, at the World Championship, Wells needed a good run of results to ensure his place on the tour for the following season. A sequence of 10–9 wins over Li Hang, Ian Preece and Marcus Campbell took him to the final qualifying round where he lost 9–10 to Barry Hawkins in the final qualifying match. In his 4 qualifying matches, he played the maximum 76 frames. His ranking rose to No. 70 as a result of his exploits that season.