Ding started the 2008–09 season on a high, winning the Jiangsu Classic after beating Ryan Day 4–0 in the semi-final and Mark Selby 6–5 in the final. In October, he participated in the third event of the World Series of Snooker. Ding won the event after defeating Ken Doherty 6–4 in the final. In the fourth event in November, Ding defeated Mark Selby 4–2 in the semi-final, before losing to John Higgins 5–0 in the final. On 16 December, in his second-round match against John Higgins at the 2008 UK Championship, Ding scored a maximum 147 break in the third frame.