Having cracked the world's Top 16, Neil returned to Australia for a short off-season.

In May, Neil commenced his Australian campaign successfully with a 4-2 victory over Steve Mifsud to win the inaugural Kings Australia Snooker Cup. Neil compiled breaks of 93, 75, 110 and 73, with Steve making breaks of 90 and 91 in the high quality 6-frame final.

Then in June, Neil won his third West Coast International in a row, with a 5-0 victory over Daniel Jones in the final. Along the way he backed up the 147 he compiled in last year's tournament, with another 147 this year. The 140 he compiled just a few frames later brought him painfully close to becoming the only player in history to achieve a "double maximum" within a single ranking tournament.

Finally in July, Neil concluded his Australian off-season with victory in the Central Coast Classic, defeating Glen Wilkinson 5-4 in the final.