hɪz ˈoʊnli ˈoʊpənɪŋɹˈaʊnd dᵻfˈiːt ðæt jˈɪɹ wʌz tə sˈuːpɑːdʒ sˈiːnlə ɪnðə wˈɜːld tʃˈæmpiənʃˌɪp, bˌʌt dᵻspˈaɪt ðɪs sˈɛtbæk ɪnðə hˈaɪɪst ɹˈæŋkɪŋpˈɔɪnt ᵻvˈɛnt ʌvðə sˈiːzən hiː dˈɪd ɪnˈʌf tə ɹˈiːtʃ ðə tˈɑːp sˈɪksti fˈoːɹ ʌvðə ɹˈæŋkɪŋz.
His only opening-round defeat that year was to Supoj Saenla in the World Championship, but despite this setback in the highest ranking-point event of the season he did enough to reach the top 64 of the rankings.