Not much can stop a dedicated fandom.
Not paywalls, not cancellations, and certainly not a source of enthusiasm for their fans themselves, as was the case in several high-profile cases of extreme parasocial behavior. And like a queer hockey romance Hot Competition has ruled public food, it has proven once again that federal laws will not remove followers from their idols of worship.
Fans of the show living in Russia, for example, have risked prison time to participate in the viral phenomenon, writes Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar because Vanity Fair (the show tells the story of same-sex love between a Russian hockey player and his Canadian rival). Fans flocked to dedicated Telegram channels to share encrypted links and boost their ratings to the top spot on Kinopoisk, a Russian media review site. They rely on VPNs to hide their IP addresses and engage in cybercrime. You wouldn’t steal the love of enemies-to-lovers, would you?
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Despite the collective joy associated with the series, the stakes are serious. The Russian Federation has some of the most extreme anti-LGBTQ laws on record, including a blanket ban on LGBTQ content. Russian leaders have cracked down on what they call the “International Public LGBT Movement,” sentencing more than 100 people for the crime in 2025 and arresting at least two. Violators may also face a fine of 400,000 rubles ($5,111) to 5 million rubles ($63,898), PinkNews reported.
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As of today (Jan. 15), the government has officially charged Russian broadcasting services for violating the country’s propaganda laws, which prohibit the promotion of “extraordinary sexual relations” among Russian citizens. Costs are directed to home sites and cloud sharing services such as Beeline TV, Kinopoisk, Wink, Ivi, Amediteka, 24TV, and Digital Television.
The willingness of Russian fans to stream a hot new show shows a common trend among fans on the Internet and in between Hot Competition fans, in particular, first shared ways to stream the series using VPN services and links released from the parent network, Crave Canada, and the licensing network HBO Max US. HBO Max reportedly signed on to the project only after successful pitches from staff who were fans of the show’s book series. They said they felt they had to “do their community service” and take the show to more people.
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Success of Hot Competition — and the sport-horror romance book industry from which its source material gained a following — rests partly on the compelling, often provocative, combination of hyper-masculinity and emotional involvement of its characters. Overall, cisgender male erotic fiction (also referred to as slash fic, MLM romance, boylove, or yaoi, for anime and internet die-hards) has historically provided a space to explore LGBTQ sexuality, society, and acceptance. Fandom Scholars and Hot Competition showrunner Jacob Tierney explained his popularity with cis women due in part to the writers’ ability to ignore the dynamic gender dynamics of heterosexual pairings and rely on the cast of same-sex partners — even though most of the genre relies on stereotypical stereotypes that critics say still feed on gender and race.
Hockey, in particular, is one of the most popular sports featured in the genre. As of 2025, the National Hockey League has no active, non-LGBTQ players. So disrupting that reality is especially appealing to fans, especially those in restrictive, patriarchal circles.
Another former hockey player, Jesse Kortuem, made headlines this week, writing a statement about feeling empowered after seeing success. Hot Competition. Kortuem did not compete in the NHL, but he told the media that discrimination against gays in the game eventually led to his retirement. “I know that many gays in the world of hockey are beaten hard Hot Competitionsuccess,” said Kortuem Get out. “In my life, I never thought that something so beautiful and loving could come from a men’s game.”
