Sheffield academy teenagers inflict surprise German Masters qualifying defeats on Higgins and Murphy

Zhao Xintong beat four-time world champion Higgins 5-1, with top breaks of 76, 72 and 92.

Yan Bingtao edged out 2005 Crucible champion Murphy 5-4, despite the latter producing breaks of 133, 80 and 117.

Sixteen-year-old Bingtao and Xintong, 19, live in South Yorkshire and are based at Sheffield’s Victoria Snooker Academy.

The Chinese teenagers have now qualified for the German Masters in February, at the Tempodrom in Berlin.

Barnsley Metrodome has hosted 128 players, who needed to win two qualifying matches to reach the last 32 who will travel to Berlin.

Barnsley has seen two maximum 147s in qualifying this week.

First Ali Carter cleared up against Wang Yuchen, then minutes later Scotland’s Ross Muir repeated the rare feat against Brazil’s Itaro Santos.

Unfortunately, the pair will have to share the £1,000 qualifying 147 prize, after the £11,000 rolling pot was emptied by Murphy at the European Masters qualifiers in Preston.

That makes it 126 maximums in snooker history, and the tally for this season now stands at eight.

Next week the spotlight turns to the Coral Scottish Open.

Local interest sees Leeds’s Sanderson Lam take on Marco Fu, while fellow Northern Snooker Centre players Peter and Oliver Lines, plus David Grace are also in action.

Grace, 31, plays Michael Holt, Oliver Lines, 21, faces Chen Zhe, while father Peter, 46, is up against Michael Georgiou.

Sheffield’s Adam Duffy, 26, has a tough opening match against Joe Perry, as does Doncaster’s Chris Keogan, 24, who tackles Mark Allen.

North Yorkshire’s Paul Davison opens up against Mei Xi Wen.