Each team received a list of challenges. Participants had to complete a minimum of 10 challenges in any order, but were only permitted to run, walk or catch public transport between locations.

Competitors had to find a word puzzle hidden at the bottom of a freezing ice tank and eat a bowl of red hot chillies at the Heat Bar in Wan Chai; abseil down a wall in Lan Kwai Fong; catch a fish with their bare hands at Aberdeen Marina, kiss it and then release it back into the water; and eat a durian pancake at Western Market with their hands tied behind their backs.

'We're delighted to have won, especially as it is Kin's birthday today,' Ng said.

'We caught only two buses and the rest of the route we ran. Now we have to focus on the world championships in Rome, which will involve a lot of map reading and training, but we believe we stand a good chance of winning the final.'

Wong said the most testing part was the ice tank challenge, in which he had to submerge himself in freezing water to find bottle tops with letters to complete a word search.

'I actually had to go through this challenge twice. The first time I couldn't see anything through the ice, so I had to get out and put on my swimming goggles in order to see,' he said.

The pair will compete in the City Chase world championship from September 27 to 30 against finalists from Australia, Canada, England, France, Portugal, Singapore, Spain and the United States for a chance to win an adventure trip of a lifetime.