Johal's first season as a professional brought runs to the last 64 at two ranking tournaments - the 2008 UK Championship, where he beat Aditya Mehta and Paul Davies, both 9–5, before losing by the same scoreline to Michael Holt, and the 2009 China Open, where he overcame Michael Georgiou and Barry Pinches but lost 3–5 to Judd Trump.

He lost his first-round qualifying match in the 2009 World Championship 8–10 to Jin Long, and finished the season ranked 80th, falling off the tour.

There, he defeated Patrick Wallace 4–1 and Matthew Selt by the same scoreline, but surrendered a 3–1 lead over Alan McManus to lose 3–4.

Having not played competitive snooker since 2012, Johal entered the 2015 Q School, aiming to regain his place on tour.

In Event 2, he beat five opponents, including Jamie Clarke and Marcus Campbell – relegating the latter from professional snooker after a 24-year career – to reach the quarter-finals.