America's Got Talent Reveals the Winner of the "Champions" Special Edition

After the group of 12 finalists were defeated in the final 20 minutes of Monday's two-hour non-competition final, Lim claimed the trophy and the winner's prize of $ 25,000.

"It was awesome and so much fun," Lim told USA TODAY of his victory, which had been punctuated by a fall to the ground when host Terry Crews announced his name.

The crews, who had a special place in Lim's winning routine during last week's show, are amazed by his talent.

More: Summary "AGT: The Champions" from Susan Boyle to Darci Lynne Farmer, who could win everything?

Terry Crews, host of the show "America's Got Talent: The Champions" (left) and Howie Mandel (right), judge, took a seat near the bottom to attend the final of the show. Artist, "Shin Lim". (Photo11: Jordin Althaus, NBC)

"He's amazing," he says. "I was trying to understand what he was doing. I watched the cards disappear from his bare hands and wondered, "What in the world?" You know it's a trick, but he cheated on me every time. "

Although Lim is delighted with the result, the gracious champion is not sure that the voters, a panel of superfans representing the 50 states, were right.

Darci Lynne deserved it. She can sing, she can do comedy, all with her mouth shut. It's almost like I'm doing magic without my hands. And she sang the opera, for God's sake, "he says," Obviously, I'm grateful for the superfans who voted me and I could not be happier. "

Other finishers announced at the end of Monday's show, which included numerous exhibitions and creative groupings, included: Sand artist Kseniya Simonova from "Ukraine's Got Talent" in third place; singer Cristina Ramos of the Spanish version in fourth position; and, to complete the top five, the Lawson preacher, comedian and finalist of season 12.

The crews had favorites. "I've always liked the Lawson preacher. I think it's a superstar. I'm a big fan of Darci Lynne and my daughter, Kseniya (whom I chose) with her golden vibrator, "he says. "They proved that they were at their peak. There is also Susan Boyle, for the love of God.

More: Darci Lynne Farmer, 12, is the new champion of "America's Got Talent".

The ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer performs with Petunia during the NBC Finale "America's Got Talent: The Champions". (Photo11: Jordin Althaus, NBC)

Lim, 27, who had to be silent about his win since the fall recording, has hardly participated in the special edition of NBC's best summer show because it was recorded just after the season. 13.

"They said they had this show called" Champions. "I had just won" America's Got Talent. "I thought," No, I'm good. I'm going to take a break. I want to relax, "he says. "But then, I thought:" It's a little crazy to make sure that all the winners face each other. It's almost like "The Hunger Games". I thought, "I'll try it. Who knows? "

The disadvantage is that he did not have time to develop new card tricks, but that did not delay him. His performance in last week's final was a variation of The Dream Act, a fascinating routine that viewers may remember from the semifinals of Season 13.

"I guess they really liked it, with the twist in the end when the (cards) appeared in (Howie Mandel's) cup," Lim said.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and raised in Massachusetts, Mr. Lim began piano training at age 9 and started card tricks before the age of 16, a late start for a professional future. . He studied piano at the university, but Carpal Tunnel Syndrome eventually forced him to choose between the two pursuits.

"I practiced too much, music and then a sleight of hand. All this rigorous training with my fingers was too difficult to handle for my wrist. The tendons were too inflamed, "says Lim, who pauses after two hours of practice.

Lim attributes the merit of his success "AGT" to his fiancée, Casey Thomas. "She helped me emotionally through all of this, because it's a pretty stressful experience."

Thomas, a dancer who worked with another magician when the couple started dating, also provided technical expertise. "She helped me in so many different ways, like camera angles, allowed me to block my actions, to come up with ideas to improve the act." She has a lot of creative solutions, "says Lim.

The awesome artist, a term he preferred to the magician, had enjoyed a professional success before "AGT", winning an international card trick title in 2015 and appearing twice in "Penn & Teller: Fool Us From CW. AGT "brought a new level of visibility.

"Penn & Teller" "earned me notoriety among magicians and hardcore nerds who watch magic, but never the secular public. Winning ("AGT") has changed everything, "he says, which led to" many more concerts "and a semi-residency that begins in May at the ventriloquist theater and season 2 champion of the Terry Fator Theater at Mirage of Las Vegas.

The career and the relationship went well without "Champions", but Lim wanted to see how he would cope with such an esteemed field. "In a way, I did it to prove my evidence, to say that I belonged to these incredible 49 competitors."

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