Over the course of Dota 2, we have seen many rivalries heat up and cool down. From the early days of NAVI and Alliance at TI3 to a more modern example of OG and PSG.LGD at TI8, rivalries are what make Dota 2 even more competitive. Even though we have seen our share of rivalries, none have been as heated as the ongoing rivalry between Quinn “Quinn” Callahan and Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev, and it will culminate in the upper bracket finals of the Berlin Major on May 5.
Quinn, the star midlaner for Gaimin Gladiators, and RAMZES666, the veteran carry player for 9Pandas, have been beefing for years now. Quinn has publicly commented he does not like RAMZES666 and is adamant he can never get along with the Russian player. In the Berlin Major group stages, RAMZES666 added fuel to the fire by tipping Quinn twice after 9Pandas’ win over Gaimin Gladiators.
Both of them gained prominence between 2017 and 2018, with their rivalry flaring up during the ESL Birmingham Major 2018 where RAMZES666’s old team Virtus.Pro beat Quinn’s old team OpTic Gaming in the finals. From that point onwards, the professional rivalry between the two players got more heated. Even though the beef has reached personal levels, RAMZES666 has said he has no idea why Quinn hates him so much.
RAMZES666 talked on Yaroslav “NS” Kuznetcov’s stream on May 2, according to escorenews, saying the tips and the trash talk have been in good fun, but he doesn’t think Quinn sees it that way. He also said when Quinn and RAMZES666 had to take an elevator together, Quinn completely ignored him and stared at the floor instead.
As long as their rivalry has been, it has been dormant for the most part since Quinn was primarily an NA player while RAMZES666 was a CIS player. Prior to this, the players would only meet in Majors but now that Quinn moved regions to the EU, it seems like more encounters between the two are likely. Both of them were touted as young prodigies growing up and are now considered to be veterans in their teams.
After RAMZES666’s disappointing run in DreamLeague season 19 in April, it seems like both teams are on more even footing now. With the sides showing no signs of stopping, the upper bracket finals between Gaimin Gladiators and 9Pandas will surely be an exciting match, especially after 9Pandas’ surprising successful run in the Berlin Major.
