The Loop

The winning trick at the World Championships of Magic is like 'Inception,' only with a good ending

November 12, 2018
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I know what you're thinking. FINALLY, The Loop is getting into competitive magic coverage. About time. And what better place to start than with the best of the best, the creme de la creme, the winning trick at the 2018 World Championships of Magic? No better place is the answer, our humble and fellow slaves to reality. So go ahead, acquaint yourself with the triumphant, victorious illusions of Eric Chien, who makes Harry Potter look like a Carnival weight guesser. Trust us, you're going want to watch this whole thing:

As it turns out, the International Federation of Magic Societies—a real thing, apparently—only holds the World Championships of Magic once every three years, and it shows, with Chien's routine absolutely packed with subtle tricks and big "wow" moments. Using ribbons and colors as his focal points, Chien boggles the eye and mind, turning red to blue and paper to coin seemingly at will. And as Gizmodo points out, Chien is "close-up magician", which means he's not relying on a team of interns backstage to saw a body in half or whatever.

Needless to say, somewhere deep within some middle American office park, Michael Scott has been streaming this on the conference room projector for the past six hours.