At the 2019 UK Championship, Ding beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 6–4 in the last 16. He defeated Liang Wenbo in the quarter-finals and Yan Bingtao in the semi-finals, both by 6–2. In the final, Ding beat Stephen Maguire 10–6, clinching his third UK title and his first since 2009. His win made him the fifth player to win the UK title three or more times, and it was his first ranking event win since 2017. Throughout the competition, Ding compiled ten century breaks, including four during the final. Following the event, his ranking increased seven spots to ninth. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Ding did not participate at another event until the 2020 World Snooker Championship. At the World Championship Ding led Mark King in the 9–7 in their first round match before King won two 50-minute frames to level the match at 9–9 and send it into a decider. Ding won the deciding frame to progress 10–9 where he would face O'Sullivan in round two. After two very tight sessions, the players were tied at 4–4 and then 8–8 going into the third and final session. O'Sullivan proved too strong in the third session and Ding eventually lost the match 10–13.