‘Heated Rivalry’ fans are spiraling over Connor Storrie’s new haircut

Connor Storrie shaved off his signature blond curls ahead of “Heated Rivalry” Season 2. Sabrina Lantos/HBO

Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov shirtless, smiling and holding two microphones to his chest. — Connor Storrie shaved off his signature blond curls ahead of “Heated Rivalry” Season 2. Sabrina Lantos/HBO

Ilya Rozanov’s curls have been benched for Season 2 of “Heated Rivalry” — and the new cut has fans buzzing.

Connor Storrie, who plays the Russian hockey star on Crave’s queer romance series, debuted his dramatic haircut on Sunday, when he was photographed dining with co-star Christina Chang in Toronto.

The 26-year-old was later spotted on set in Dundas, Ontario, where he shot scenes outside Turner Family Funeral Home Ltd., per the Hamilton Spectator.

Connor Storrie debuted a fresh buzzcut on the set of “Heated Rivalry” in Hamilton, Ontario. Backgrid / BACKGRID

Creator Jacob Tierney and “Game Changers” book series author Rachel Reid were on hand, and production had dressed the property with artificial snow, hinting at a winter scene.

Fans of the series are treating Storrie’s chop like a personal tragedy.

“WHERE ARE HIS CURLS HE CANT SEE WITHOUT HIS CURLS,” one distraught devotee wrote on X, while another lamented, “my stomach hurts.”

“This has to be AI I’m gonna cry,” a third added.

The 26-year-old was photographed dining with co-star Christina Chang in Toronto on Sunday. Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Storrie was spotted shooting scenes outside Turner Family Funeral Home in Dundas, Ontario, on Monday with the fresh cut. Sabrina Lantos/HBO

The chop sent the fandom into a meltdown, with social media users begging the show’s creator Jacob Tierney to bring back the curls. HBO

The mourning stems partly from the source material — Rachel Reid’s “The Long Game,” the sixth novel in her “Game Changers” series and the basis for Season 2, describes Ilya as having long hair throughout.

Some fans, though, saw the buzz cut as authentic to Ilya’s Russian roots, while others floated a plot-driven theory: that the shorn look mirrors the character’s emotional arc in Season 2, where he’s said to be grappling with depression.

Storrie said months ago he was open to a transformation. In a Teen Vogue clip posted in December, the actor admitted he was over his signature look.

“I’m ready to cut this stuff off if y’all want me to be completely honest,” he said at the time. “I’m ready to shave my head. I don’t know who’s out there, but someone hire me and give me a crazy haircut.”

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The actor hinted at the transformation last December, telling Teen Vogue he was ready to shave his head. Instagram/Hudson Williams

Rachel Reid’s sixth “Game Changers” novel, “The Long Game,” serves as source material for the new season. Getty Images

Some corners of the fandom are betting his on-screen chemistry with co-star Hudson Williams will eventually silence the hair debate.

“Once we see Shane and Ilya interact again on our screens, all of this will be forgotten,” one user wrote. “A haircut does not chemistry make.”

Fans mourning the curls can still get their fix in Los Angeles, where Storrie’s Saint Laurent fall 2026 campaign — shot with his signature ringlets intact — is currently plastered on a multistory billboard on Sunset Boulevard.

Season 2 of “Heated Rivalry” is set to premiere on Crave in spring 2027.