STUNNED Scots Stephen Maguire and John Higgins suffered a shock defeat in the final of the Snooker World Cup.

The experienced duo were downed 4-1 in Wuxi by China's teenage sensations Zhou Yuelong and Yan Bingtao, who entered as the host nation's 'B Team'.

Higgins admitted afterwards that the best team had won: “Right from the very first shot they were too good, it's that simple,” said the four-time world champion.

“They're only young boys and they played unbelievable snooker, so Stephen and I can have no complaints. When you lose like that you hold your hands up and say 'the best team won'.”

Team-mate Maguire echoed Higgins' sentiments, and tipped the wonderkids for more success in the future.

"We didn't make that many mistakes, but we weren't really allowed to play snooker,” said the 2004 UK Champion.

“They were potting them from anywhere on the table. Fair play to them, I think they're probably two future world champions.”

Zhou (17) and Yan (15) were the tournament's surprise package, and started the final in superb style.

They raced into a 3-0 lead having won their opening singles frames with breaks of 100 and 51, and then teamed up to deadly effect in the doubles.

Scotland pulled a frame back as Maguire edged past Yan, before China's second-string side got their hands on the trophy courtesy of Zhou's 33 clearance to beat Higgins in the fifth frame.

Both former World Amateur champions, Zhou has only been on the professional circuit a year, whilst Yan will make his tour debut in the upcoming season.

The talented youngsters had already dispatched the unbeaten Welsh pairing of Mark Williams and Michael White in the semi-final.

They carried that fine form into the final to retain China's grip on the World Cup – having won it four years ago with the pairing of Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo.

The Scottish team had battled through a tough semi-final against India earlier in the day, with Maguire winning the deciding frame on the pink.

But they were to have no such luck against their final opponents, who clinched the £130,000 top prize to make a strong statement of the strength of snooker's development in Asia.