Magicians Kyle Knight and Mistie Win $10,000 on Syfy’s “Wizard Wars”
Las Vegas-based Magicians Kyle Knight and Mistie defeated comedy magic duo Jarrett & Raja in the Challenger Round of Syfy’s “Wizard Wars” last Thursday, February 5. They went on to defeat the show’s Wizards and win $10,000 (Photos courtesy of Syfy/Wizard Wars).
Kyle Knight and Mistie perform in the Challenger Round of Syfy’s Wizard Wars
In Wizard Wars, two teams of challengers must create original magic routines in a short period of time using three secret objects. This week’s objects were a cape, a set of luggage, and a live bunny rabbit. After winning the Challenger Round, Kyle and Mistie went up against two of the show’s Wizards, Justin and Shimshi, in the “Wizard War” round that resulted in their second win of the evening and a top prize of $10,000.
Kyle Knight and Mistie in the Challenger Round of Syfy’s Wizard Wars
VegasNews.com spoke with Kyle and Mistie Knight after the show:
What was it like having to create new magic from specific props?
Creating magic is hard enough without the limitations of having to use such random objects, and doing it within such a short amount of time with little to no rehearsal is very stressful. A typical routine in our theater show can take several months to work out, so Wizard Wars was probably one of the most challenging experiences of our career yet, but it was worth it! We went through several different versions of each routine before we finally had to make a final decision and go forward with it. Through trial and error you fine tune the routine and see what’s going to work and what’s not, but that’s difficult when you aren’t able to rehearse in front of an audience in real time.
We got to test out our routines onstage only one time before filming! There were so many variables that could have gone wrong. In addition to the magic in our 2nd routine, Kyle was also fire eating and juggling eggs, and lets just say there were a lot of broken eggs on the floor when he was practicing!
Kyle Knight eats fire during the Wizard War round of Syfy’s Wizard Wars
Did your routines go exactly as planned?
It was pretty crazy, and during the only rehearsal we had onstage prior to filming, one of our routines completely failed and ended with the smashed egg reappearing in the back of the audience, but fortunately we were able learn from that and everything went perfectly when we were in front of the judges, and Kyle nailed the juggling as well!
Kyle Knight and Mistie during the Wizard War round of Syfy’s Wizard Wars
After everyone’s performances, were you confident that you had beaten both the challengers and the wizards?
We were so busy that didn’t get to see the Wizard’s performance, and with so many things that can wrong in live show, you can never been too sure about the outcome. We’re actually friends with Justin and Shimshi, the “Wizards” we were up against, and we knew that they are both great performers and would be good competition, but we were confident in the routine we’d created and when show time came, we just went out there and had fun with it.
We also really focused on making both of our routines streamlined; we didn’t want to do separate tricks with each item. We wanted to weave all of the items together, and the judges commented on how much they appreciated that we were able to do that because it’s so difficult. The best part though was not only winning, but winning because we were able to create a routine that was strong enough magic to fool the judges, including Penn & Teller.
Kyle Knight and Mistie beat the Wizards to win $10,000 on Syfy’s Wizard Wars
Did the challengers do anything you thought was really clever?
I really liked at the beginning of Jarret & Raja’s routine where they showed the suitcases labeled with their names that changed to labels with “magician” and “musician.” It defined their characters right away and looked great! And the suspension that the Wizards performed was nice too. Overall they gave us some great competition.
Any chance of you making another appearance on the show?
It’s too soon to tell, but it’s a real possibility since the show is breaking ratings records. Fingers crossed!
Kyle Knight and Mistie are a husband and wife duo that have traveled to over 70 different countries performing their own unique style of illusions, recently headlining at The Magic Castle in Hollywood, CA and performing in the variety shows at Sam’s Town and the Suncoast Hotel & Casino here in Las Vegas.
Kyle Knight has been awarded by the Society of American Magicians as well as the International Brotherhood of Magicians, and Mistie Knight is a former Miss Las Vegas in the Miss America Organization. Their next performance here in Las Vegas will be at Jeff McBride’s Wonderground on February 19, and this summer they will headlining with their full illusion show in the Walt Disney Theatre on Disney Cruise Line. To see their full tour schedule visit their website at www.knightmagic.com and to view their episode of “Wizard Wars” visit www.SyFy.com.
- Watch a new episode of Wizard Wars tonight, Thursday 10/9c on Syfy: It’s a North American border battle as teams of Magicians from Canada and the United States fight for the chance to face the Wizards. Also, there are bears.
Wizard Wars is a reality competition show in which magicians compete for $10,000 using everyday objects to create magic tricks. Penn & Teller are the judges. Wizard Wars airs on Syfy on Thursdays at 10/9c.
Rick Lax, Magic Consultant and Producer, started Wizard Wars in his apartment, a block off the strip. From YouTube video to prime time hit in just 2 years!