Then why did he use all caps when he said only one card? Maybe it's just me but he sounded very serious with the one card ONLY part. PS, i'm not trying to start anything and i'm happy he won, i just want to be clear with the rules for future contests.
All right, thins are getting crazy.
I know you're not starting anything, it's civil, all is pipe.
The rules are interpreted as just a one-card flourish. A flourish like 'Bullet' is considered a one-card flourish, despite that the rest of the deck is being held in the same hand; the rest of the deck is an inactive component while the one card jumps about.
Sometimes with the contests, you have to think a little outside the box. I got nailed for this last year with a one-handed flourish contest. The winner did a flourish where he held the deck in one hand, took two cards off the top with the other hand, did a two card twirl, and placed the two cards back on top of the deck--still in the other hand.
This wasn't my definition of a one-handed flourish, but was technically a one-handed flourish in the eyes of the contest and the rest of the cardistry community.
Honestly, it's one of those 'live and learn' moments. It sucks that there was a bit of confusion and may have changed the outlook on your entry.