MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-American magician Anna de Guzman finished as the runner-up in the 18th season of the reality talent competition America’s Got Talent (AGT). 

For her final performance, the 25-year-old magician involved not only the judges but also host Terry Crews and all audience members. 

She asked each of them to shuffle a deck of cards, pick one card, slip the chosen card into an envelope, and hide it under their respective seats. 

De Guzman then proceeded to show off several shuffling tricks while she asked Crews to also shuffle his own deck of cards and choose a chunk of it to keep. 

She then unveiled that her chosen deck nearly matched the deck of Crews — with the last card, the queen of hearts, being the one found in the envelopes of the judges and audience members. 

After completing her trick, De Guzman revealed that the set of cards — two of hearts, six of diamonds, nine of spades, two of diamonds, three of hearts, ten of clubs, and ten of spades — signified the broadcast time of her final performance: September 26, 2023, at 10:10 pm.

“I believe in her magic,” judge Sofia Vergara said. “That was amazing. I’m so proud that you’re here. You’re the first woman that has made it to the finals. You deserve to be here.” 

Judge Simon Cowell exclaimed: “How the hell did you do that! That was magic, that was unbelievable.” 

Meanwhile, judge Howie Mandel shared that he’s “very impressed.”

“You are magical, young lady. And you are adorable,” he said. 

“You brought the wow to the finale and it packed a punch. It was fantastic,” judge Heidi Klum said. 

De Guzman also disclosed after her performance that her mother flew all the way from the Philippines to support her in the finals round. 

Although she fell short of winning the competition, De Guzman still made history as the first female close-up magician to make it to the AGT finals. Adrian Stoica and his dog Hurricane won the competition. 

De Guzman also took to social media to celebrate the milestone.

“We did it. Season 18 runner-up. This is just the beginning. Can’t wait to show you what’s next,” she said. 

In a separate post, she wrote: “I will remember this for the rest of my life. Thank you for being a part of history.”

During the audition round, De Guzman shared that she’s been doing “cardistry” or the “manipulation of playing cards” for five to six years now, but she felt like “magical things happen all the time” in her life. 

Prior to America’s Got Talent, De Guzman also appeared in various shows such as  MTV’s Amazingness, CW’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us, The Steve Harvey Show, and Australia’s Got Talent to showcase her cardistry skills. – Rappler.com