Dale had a good start to his 2011–12 season as he reached the quarter-finals of the first event, the Australian Goldfields Open.
Dale was originally due to meet Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round, but due to his withdrawal for medical reasons he instead played amateur Steve Mifsud and won 5–2.
He then beat home favourite Neil Robertson on the final black in a 5–4 win lasting almost four hours, before losing to Mark Williams in another final frame decider, having never been behind in the match until the end.

He then reached the final stages of the UK Championship for the first time since 2005 by beating Nigel Bond in the final qualifying round and was drawn against Judd Trump in the last 32.
Dale led 4–2 before Trump had a large slice of fortune in the seventh frame by fluking a pink.
Dale would eventually lose the match 4–6.
He also reached the 2012 PTC Finals courtesy of finishing twentieth in the Order of Merit.
His qualification was largely due to making the final of Event 10, where he was beaten by Michael Holt 2–4.
In the Finals he lost 2–4 to Xiao Guodong in the first round.

Dale qualified for the World Championship with a 10–3 victory over Ben Woollaston to set up another first round meeting with Judd Trump.
He led the match 7–6 against an opponent who later revealed to be suffering from food poisoning, before conceding four successive frames to lose 7–10.
Dale finished the season ranked world number 23, meaning he had climbed 8 places during the year.
Dale had a good start to his 2011–12 season as he reached the quarter-finals of the first event, the Australian Goldfields Open. Dale was originally due to meet Ronnie O'Sullivan in the first round, but due to his withdrawal for medical reasons he instead played amateur Steve Mifsud and won 5–2. He then beat home favourite Neil Robertson on the final black in a 5–4 win lasting almost four hours, before losing to Mark Williams in another final frame decider, having never been behind in the match until the end.
He then reached the final stages of the UK Championship for the first time since 2005 by beating Nigel Bond in the final qualifying round and was drawn against Judd Trump in the last 32. Dale led 4–2 before Trump had a large slice of fortune in the seventh frame by fluking a pink. Dale would eventually lose the match 4–6. He also reached the 2012 PTC Finals courtesy of finishing twentieth in the Order of Merit. His qualification was largely due to making the final of Event 10, where he was beaten by Michael Holt 2–4. In the Finals he lost 2–4 to Xiao Guodong in the first round.
Dale qualified for the World Championship with a 10–3 victory over Ben Woollaston to set up another first round meeting with Judd Trump. He led the match 7–6 against an opponent who later revealed to be suffering from food poisoning, before conceding four successive frames to lose 7–10. Dale finished the season ranked world number 23, meaning he had climbed 8 places during the year.
Dominic Dale