[12] Lu failed to qualify for any ranking events besides the UK Championship and the Welsh Open for which all players on the tour gain automatic entry at the venue stage.

He reached his first last 16 in the Northern Ireland Open, beating Craig Steadman, Alan McManus and Hammad Miah, before losing to David Gilbert.

He repeated the feat in next tournament, the UK Championship, where he beat Anthony McGill, Mark Joyce and Luca Brecel, before losing 6–5 to Tom Ford despite missing several chances to win.

[18] In February, Lu reached his first ranking quarter-final at the Indian Open, beating Robert Milkins, Liam Highfield, Yan Bingtao and Stuart Bingham, before losing to eventual champion Matt Selt.

In the following tournament, the Gibraltar Open, Lu went one better, beating three amateurs and professionals Shaun Murphy and Tian Pengfei before losing to defending champion Ryan Day.