Earlier yesterday, Russian pro players RAMZES666 and Illidan got into an argument in a ranked Dota 2 game whilst the latter was streaming. It quickly spiralled into a major drama within the Eastern European (EEU) Dota 2 community, with Ilya "Illidan" Pivcaev accusing Roman "Ramzes" Kushnarev of being a drug addict and of ‘322’. Ramzes denied the allegations calling it untrue, and adding that Illidan should have some proof before saying something like this. Following this, former Virtus.pro manager Roman Dvoryankin supported Ramzes and added that these accusations could legally be considered slander, suggesting that the latter could sue Illidan as a result.
Illidan Calls Out Ramzes in a Pub Game
The controversy began in the pick phase of a ranked Dota 2 game where Illidan wanted to play in the mid lane and marked it down. However, Ramzes picked Ember Spirit and went mid. Ramzes said that he was higher ranked and asked Illidan to beat him in an official game first before asking to take a position from him in ranked games.
The two players continued to trade insults with Ramzes stating that Illidan should just keep quiet and called him inadequate. Illidan fired back with some rather harsh words.
"I can tell you a thing or two about you on the stream, you Roxbury (an adult club in Moscow, Russia) coke addict. Yeah I'm a noob but at least I'm not a coke addict so what do I care? It's better to play bad than to die before you're 30 from coke addiction. And better than having your analysts kicked to take their paychecks. “
Ramzes responded in text chat, laughing at what was said and stated that the Illidan was probably just angry because he had insulted latter's friend VANSKOR in another ranked game. Illidan responded by stating, “Let's be honest. You play Dota 2 better, but everything else in your life is trash. You can’t even say a word or two in response.”
He added, “at least I didn't do 322. Can you tell me about it? Or do you have nothing to say about it? I chose my way, even if I have less prize money. Why didn't you delete Dota anyway? You promised! You're just a hyena who can only trashtalk people whose careers aren't going too well.”
Illidan then explained why he didn’t like Ramzes and why burying the hatchet between them is impossible. He said, “There's no situation that could force me to make peace with him and begin to treat him normally. Because I know he is a worm. Whenever he thinks someone got no use for him he starts treating those people like crap. Ask Iceberg about it, or anyone else."
Illidan also added that he does not judge Ramzes for his way of life. He explained that he used these arguments to silence the player.
I don't condemn him for his lifestyle, but I think that if he opens his mouth, you have to shut him up all the time. His Russian language skills against me is like going into a cage with Iceberg (a trained boxer), and I have a better chance. Let him forget how to talk and just keep playing Dota, he can't do anything else in life and never will.”- Ilya "Illidan" Pivcaev
Ramzes Responds to Illidan’s Accusations
Ramzes did not respond to Illidan in-game but posted on Twitter stating, “Dear Illidan, before you spew something rotten about other people, remember that you need proof to do so, not some unproven rumors. I didn't think anyone would care, but the worms dug this up, too
Ramzes Receives Support From Former Virtus.Pro General Manager
Former Virtus.pro CEO Roman Dvoryankin noted that the accusations of match-fixing against Ramzes from Illidan should be considered in court as slander.
“By the way, I think the story about the accusations of fake matches against Ramzes could legally be considered defamation and/or libel. And if the suit is successful, the money could be donated to charity.”
Ramzes would go on to Retweet this post.
According to Dvoryankin, accusations of organizing match-fixing are a much more serious offense than ordinary online insults. And despite pro-players like Kirill "Sunlight" Kachinsky disagreeing with it, The former General Manager of Virtus.pro thinks that trashtalk and the verbal accusations of match-fixing on one of the most successful esports players is a different story.
Illidan Responds to Former Virtus.Pro General Manager’s Statements
Illidan responded to these statements by noting that Dvoryankin skipped his allegations on Roxbery and Coke addiction. He said that this was because, “you understand everything very well. The same about the situation with Jan [the analyst the Virtus.Pro parted ways with] too.”
“I want one thing: I want you (Ramzes), an uneducated but skilled Dota player, to never open your mouth in my direction. I've warned you about that more than once or twice. Don't talk about me and you won't exist to me. You want to poke me with officiousness and my weakness? I'll do the same with your weaknesses. And my word, unlike yours, can be trusted, because I don't write to vanskor that if I lose one game against him, I'll delete Dota. My viewers and people who know me are witnesses to the fact that I don't answer personal provocative questions unless the person is talking shit about me.”- Ilya "Illidan" Pivcaev
Dvoryankin responded by stating,
"Illidan, are you out of your mind? I don't even want to comment on the nonsense about the coke, and how do you even know anything about our analyst Jan? We parted in a civilized manner, having fulfilled all our contractual obligations to him. What do you want to achieve with all this?"- Roman Dvoryankin
Illidan responded to this by saying that he just wanted the people who he doesn’t even bother with to stop badmouthing him. He also spoke about the potential lawsuit, laughing it off, stating that things will get very interesting when all those who have suffered from Ramzes file a counterclaim.
Currently both Illidan and Ramzes are teamless with Ramzes departing from Navi in July 2021. Illidan's last competitive game was with Team Liquid at ESL One Summer 2021 where he stood in for Micke.
