When Felix Eller and Aram Matagi met during a Heated Rivalry lookalike competition in early April, neither expected their win as fictional couple Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov to spark a real-life romance.
A coworker sent Matagi, a 22-year-old living near Columbia Heights, a Partiful invite for the contest at NoMa beer garden Wunder Garten. Friends had pointed out his resemblance to Hollander—played by actor Hudson Williams—but Matagi admits he wanted to back out after seeing the other lookalikes.
Meanwhile, Eller is no stranger to Rozanov comparisons. (The captain of the fictional Boston Raiders is played by Connor Storrie.) On TikTok, commenters urged the 24-year-old startup owner and self-described hopeless romantic to try a Russian accent. The Richmond resident leaned in, winning the Anthem’s lookalike competition in March. When Wunder Garten’s organizer reached out about their version, Eller was prepared to defend his title as DC’s Ilya Rozanov.
Each contestant was assigned a number. Eller was dubbed Ilya #9 while Matagi became Shane #8. “I was mostly trying to keep up with Shane #5,” says Matagi. At some point, #5 took off his shirt and kissed Eller, the leading Rozanov. Matagi had his chance to respond during the final tiebreaker round.
“[Eller] said something along the lines of ‘Well, what are you going to do? It’s your move,'” says Matagi. “So I went for it, and I had to apologize after because I feel like my teeth were everywhere during that kiss.”
@felix.eller Won more than the competition 😘😘😘 #heatedrivalry #mlm #lookalike #ilya #shane
Teeth aside, the kiss sealed his win — and their heated meet-cute. “It definitely felt in isolation to what was going on,” says Eller. After a few photos and a quick debrief with friends, the winners exchanged numbers and made plans to grab brunch. Later that night at 14th Street bar Trade, a fan recognized Eller, asking if the Ilya clone got Matagi’s number. Eller replied they were actually going on a date the next morning, and the interaction went viral on X.
Eller and Matagi realized just how public their connection had become on their first date. After brunch at Mt. Pleasant breakfast taco spot La Tejana, the doppelgängers moved to Tryst for iced maple chai lattes. A worker immediately recognized them, offering free treats.
But once the couple went back to Matagi’s home, their public origin story turned into something quieter: card games, music (they’re a 92 percent match on Spotify), and conversation. The first date lasted eight hours. For their second date this past weekend, Eller and Matagi went out of town. Keeping with the hockey theme, they attended a Professional Women’s Hockey League game in Boston.
@thepwhlofficial I think I’ve seen this film before… #heatedrivalry #hockey #hockeyplayers #rozanov #hollander
In the days since the competition, Matagi and Eller have seen a surge in followers, including some making celebrity-style fan edits about their budding relationship. Their DMs are filled with requests for interviews, PR packages, and even brand deals. Like the actual stars of Heated Rivalry, they’re also getting messages from people around the world sharing how much the kiss at Wunder Garten meant to them.
Faced with this newfound attention, the duo are trying to stay grounded. They’ve made a pact: If the attention ever becomes too much, they’ll deactivate their social media accounts and be present with each other. “We’re not fictional characters, and we’re not celebrities,” says Eller.
For Matagi, their connection is key to maneuvering the noise. “I would not be able to do this without [Eller],” he says. “I would delete my Instagram account and go into the woods for three weeks.”
Tristan Espinoza joined Washingtonian as an Editorial Fellow in 2026. A proud Osage Native from Dallas, Texas, he is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Nonfiction) at American University. He is a graduate of Columbia University and the London School of Economics. He lives in Mount Pleasant.
