At the start of the 2013–14 season McManus was ranked 49th in the World Rankings.
At the 2013 Wuxi Classic qualifiers he won his match against Darryl Hill 5–3 to qualify for the last 64 of the event held in Wuxi.
At the venue he defeated Ken Doherty 5–3 before losing to Dave Gilbert 2–5.
At the first Asian Tour event, he bested players such as Michael White before beating local favorite Ding Junhui 4–2 in the last 16.
He then defeated Yu Delu 4–1 in the quarter-finals, reaching his first semi-final in nine years.
In the semi-final he lost to eventual winner Joe Perry 2–4, despite having been 2–1 up.

McManus qualified for the inaugural Indian Open, beating amateur Sydney Wilson 4–1 in qualifying.
He was then beaten 1–4 in the last 64 by Zhang Anda.
McManus followed up this result by qualifying for the International Championship in beating Darren Cook 6–0.
He then defeated local wildcard Zhou Yuelong 6–5, coming back from 2–4 down.
In the last 64 he produced the shock of the tournament by beating defending champion Judd Trump 6–5, having been 3–4 down.
However he was defeated 4–6 by Ryan Day in the following round.
At the 2013 UK Championship, McManus defeated Joel Walker 6–5, winning the match on a respotted black, before losing to Michael Holt 4–6 in the last 64.
McManus reached the last 16 of the German Masters, defeating Jak Jones 5–1 in qualifying.
At the Tempodrom he defeated Peter Ebdon and Jack Lisowski, both by 5–2 scorelines, before being himself beaten 2–5 by Michael Holt.

McManus continued his good form into the final European Tour event of the season, where he reached the last 16 by defeating players such as Neil Robertson and Graeme Dott before losing to Fergal O'Brien.
Despite also reaching the last 16 of the final Asian Tour Event of the season, McManus narrowly missed out on qualification for the Players Championship Grand Final by one place.
He lost to Mark King in the second round of the Welsh Open and failed to qualify for the China Open, but was to finish the season strongly.
He reached the quarter-final of the World Open, losing to Mark Selby.

The 2014 World Snooker Championship, saw McManus beat John Higgins 10–7 in the first round and then defeat Ken Doherty 13–8, to set up another quarter-final with Mark Selby.
McManus performed well early on, but Selby ran away with the match in the second session to leave the Scot trailing 4–12.
McManus was able to claw back the first frame of the final session but Selby won the next frame to clinch the match 13–5.
At the start of the 2013–14 season McManus was ranked 49th in the World Rankings. At the 2013 Wuxi Classic qualifiers he won his match against Darryl Hill 5–3 to qualify for the last 64 of the event held in Wuxi. At the venue he defeated Ken Doherty 5–3 before losing to Dave Gilbert 2–5. At the first Asian Tour event, he bested players such as Michael White before beating local favorite Ding Junhui 4–2 in the last 16. He then defeated Yu Delu 4–1 in the quarter-finals, reaching his first semi-final in nine years. In the semi-final he lost to eventual winner Joe Perry 2–4, despite having been 2–1 up.
McManus qualified for the inaugural Indian Open, beating amateur Sydney Wilson 4–1 in qualifying. He was then beaten 1–4 in the last 64 by Zhang Anda. McManus followed up this result by qualifying for the International Championship in beating Darren Cook 6–0. He then defeated local wildcard Zhou Yuelong 6–5, coming back from 2–4 down. In the last 64 he produced the shock of the tournament by beating defending champion Judd Trump 6–5, having been 3–4 down. However he was defeated 4–6 by Ryan Day in the following round. At the 2013 UK Championship, McManus defeated Joel Walker 6–5, winning the match on a respotted black, before losing to Michael Holt 4–6 in the last 64. McManus reached the last 16 of the German Masters, defeating Jak Jones 5–1 in qualifying. At the Tempodrom he defeated Peter Ebdon and Jack Lisowski, both by 5–2 scorelines, before being himself beaten 2–5 by Michael Holt.
McManus continued his good form into the final European Tour event of the season, where he reached the last 16 by defeating players such as Neil Robertson and Graeme Dott before losing to Fergal O'Brien. Despite also reaching the last 16 of the final Asian Tour Event of the season, McManus narrowly missed out on qualification for the Players Championship Grand Final by one place. He lost to Mark King in the second round of the Welsh Open and failed to qualify for the China Open, but was to finish the season strongly. He reached the quarter-final of the World Open, losing to Mark Selby.
The 2014 World Snooker Championship, saw McManus beat John Higgins 10–7 in the first round and then defeat Ken Doherty 13–8, to set up another quarter-final with Mark Selby. McManus performed well early on, but Selby ran away with the match in the second session to leave the Scot trailing 4–12. McManus was able to claw back the first frame of the final session but Selby won the next frame to clinch the match 13–5.
Alan McManus