What is the confrontation between Dota 2 pros Quinn and RAMZES all about?

Esports is no stranger to heated-up battles, which sometimes extend outside the game. One such rivalry is happening between Gaimin Gladiators’ midlaner Quinn “Quinn” Callahan and his counterpart Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev (also known as RAMZES) from L1ga Team.

Their ongoing verbal “banter”, peppered with memes and playful jibes, recently took an interesting turn and we might just finally see an actual showdown. Team Spirit’s Miroslav “Mira” Kolpakov asked Quinn when his fight is with RAMZES, to which he responded that it would take place in Dubai (BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024).

“Dubai, bare knuckles”

Several months before, Quinn humorously responded to a viewer’s query about his tiff with RAMZES666 during his live stream. Addressing the question, the skilled mid-player of Gaimin Gladiators expressed his general disinterest in physical confrontations. However, he playfully noted that for a staggering sum of 13 billion dollars, he would consider stepping into the ring with RAMZES666.

“I won’t fight anyone. I don’t like to fight people, I don’t find it fun. And I especially don’t like to get beaten up. That’s even worse. But all right, for 13 billion dollars I would fight RAMZES.” –  Quinn “Quinn” Callahan

How did the beef between Quinn vs RAMZES start?

This lighthearted exchange marks the latest chapter in the ongoing rivalry that began in earnest in 2023, although this beef definitely started much earlier. Both players are notorious for exchanging barbed comments in public matches, and these exchanges have been a topic of interest in multiple interviews. When discussing the nature of his relationship with RAMZES666, Quinn was candid about his thoughts.

Nevertheless, the origin of this rivalry can be traced back to interactions in public matches, where Quinn took offense to RAMZES666’s abrasive in-game behavior, dubbing him “Ramdog” even in post-match interviews. Over time, what started as a serious grievance transformed into a more light-hearted, meme-driven banter.

During one such discussion, RAMZES jokingly suggested an MMA match as a potential resolution to their ongoing rivalry.

The MMA fight between Quinn and RAMZES

This ongoing banter between the two has captured the imagination of the Esports community, even leading to the creation of a meme that envisions their rivalry culminating in a MMA wrestling showdown. This meme gained such popularity that it was featured during a broadcast on the tournament stream of BetBoom Dacha 2023, albeit in a virtual wrestling game.

The meme became a virtual reality when the Russian commentary team of BetBoom DACHA, including former professional player Yaroslav “NS” Kuznetsov and a co-commentator known as Zloba, participated in a simulated wrestling match in the WWE 2K video game. They used custom mods representing RAMZES and Quinn. In this virtual bout, NS, playing as RAMZES, emerged victorious over his digital adversary, controlled by Zloba, playing as Quinn.

Hysterically, Quinn himself witnessed this virtual representation of their rivalry at a BetBoom DACHA event. Watching alongside fellow teammate Dyrachyo, both found humor in the hilarious depiction.

Unfortunately, although Quinn suggested meeting in Dubai for a brawl, we won’t be expecting RAMZES666’s appearance because L1ga Team did not qualify for BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024. Nevertheless, the rivalry between Quinn and RAMZES serves as a fascinating example of how competitive spirit can eventually become a sensational Dota 2 meme.