After whitewashing Wang Yuchen 4–0 at the English Open, Zhao met Ronnie O'Sullivan in the second round. Breaks of 130, 107 and 80 saw him lead 3–2, but he missed chances to take the win and was defeated 4–3. O'Sullivan said afterwards that Zhao's attacking style of play had reminded him of Stephen Hendry when he was a similar age. He qualified for the German Masters by beating Li Hang 5–3 and John Higgins 5–1 and a 5–0 thrashing of Akani Songsermsawad saw Zhao reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time. He held a narrow 4–3 advantage over Ali Carter, but lost the last two frames. Zhao was also edged out in the third round Gibraltar Open 4–3 by Mark Williams.