With a flawless card trick, a 26-year-old magician from Taipei has become the first Taiwanese to win a top prize at the World Championship of Magic.
Horret Wu (吳何) was the winner of the close-up card magic category, performed in close proximity to the judges and audience.
“Card magic is commonly a European area of expertise,” the Chinese-language United Daily News quoted Wu as saying. “There aren’t many that can take the championship from them without remarkable innovation and skill.”
Wu said he was advised to change categories to increase his chances of winning, but for Wu the competition was not just about winning, it was a way to challenge himself, he said.
Wu is the first Asian to win that category, giving a performance that was considered a flawless display of card trickery at the highest level of technical skill.
Following his performance, Wu received a five-minute standing ovation for his first performance in a global competition held by the International Federation of Magic Societies (FISM).
He has won multiple awards from the Taiwan Magic Association and he placed second last year in a different category at a FISM competition in South Korea.
A self-described “underground master of sleight,” Wu specializes in card magic and sleight-of-hand. Well known on the Taiwanese magic scene, he has crafted original acts.
The FISM is one of the top organizations in the international magic community, founded in 1948. The triennial World Championship of Magic is the most prominent FISM event, which is attended by thousands of magicians from around the world.
This year’s competition was held in the Italian town of Rimini from July 6-Saturday last week.
For Wu, the next step is Japan and France, with the aim putting Taiwan into the international magic spotlight.
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