🚨 UPDATE: as of January 22, 2026, the contest has been rescheduled to Sunday, February 1 due to the incoming blizzard!
Grab your skates, hockey stick, and padding–our favorite fictional couple, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, are officially inspiring the city’s latest hunt for celebrity doppelgängers. That’s right: New York’s ongoing obsession with look alike contests is back this February, and this time the focus is Heated Rivalry.
Yes, the beloved hockey romance that lives rent-free in so many group chats is getting the full NYC treatment. Think less red carpet, more park bench. Less Hollywood glam, more “this guy definitely plays beer league and somehow looks hot doing it.”
A Partiful event announcing the contest states:
In a time when online dating prospects seem more dismal than ever, we have been forced to take extreme measures. We will be hosting yet ANOTHER look-alike competition to find the best NYC local knockoff Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov to give the girls, the gays, and theys something to yearn for in 2026.
Honestly? Fair.
If you thrive on a little playful trash talk, razor-sharp banter, and the kind of chemistry that could melt the ice at Madison Square Garden, consider this your formal invitation.
This contest is calling on anyone who can convincingly channel Shane Hollander’s Golden Retriever, all-American charm or Ilya Rozanov’s smug, unbothered, “I’m hot and I know it” energy–or, if you’re feeling ambitious, both.
Think: sunshiney smile meets devastating eye contact. Show up ready to flirt, chirp, and win, whether you’re serving “didn’t even try” vibes or full-on hockey romance fantasy. Bonus points if you look like you just left the rink.
The showdown is going down at the birthplace of the tradition itself–NYC’s own Washington Square Park–on Sunday, February 1. Heated Rivalry devotees, hockey obsessives, and anyone simply here for the spectacle should be posted up by the fountain by 2 pm. Consider it a roll call for the fandom.
Unsurprisingly, people are already buzzing at the idea of being surrounded by a small army of Hollander and Rozanov doppelgängers. If you want in–whether as a contestant or an enthusiastic spectator–RSVP via the Partiful listing.
And remember: long live Hollanov! 💞🏒🥰