Winnipeg magician Darcy Oake wows Britain's Got Talent

A Winnipegger blew away the judges in one of the top talent shows in the world and now his performance is going viral on the net.

Darcy Oake, 26, performed on Saturday's edition of Britain's Got Talent and was unanimously voted into the next round of the competition by the panel of celebrity judges.

Despite his epic performance and calm composure on stage, there was a lot on the line and Oake knew it.

"If it was an epic failure, it could have theoretically ruined what I’ve built up to this point — but no risk no reward,” Oake said.

Oake, who has been practising magic since the age of ten, floored the judges, and brought the audience to its feet with his impressive sleight of hand.

During the act, he made doves appear out of thin air, and then somehow managed to turn them into a woman.

Joking with the judges before his performance, including Simon Cowell, he explained how he ended up doing magic tricks. 

"Actually I had hopes and dreams of becoming a doctor but my parents insisted that I become a magician," he quipped, prompting laughs from the audience. 

Darcy Oake is the son of CBC sportscaster Scott Oake, who lives in Winnipeg.

Darcy said the video of his performance on Britain's Got Talent has had 1.5 million hits since it aired on Saturday in the UK.

He said he's overwhelmed by the response.

"My social media is going crazy," he told CBC Monday. "It's so great and it just came out on Saturday and it's still like, I don't know. It hasn't really sunk in, I guess."

Some people are now hoping to ride on the magician's coat tails.

“I've had a few people send me resumes," Oake said. "They're like, 'Are you looking for a magician's assistant? Here's an 8x10 [photo].'"

As for Britain's Got Talent, Oake finds out if he made it to the semifinals in about a month.