Heated Rivalry fans rejoice as Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie named as Olympic torch bearers
It’s official: Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams will be torchbearers carrying the Olympic Flame for Milano Cortina 2026. (Rich Polk/2026GG/Penske Media via Getty Images)
It's official: Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams will be torchbearers carrying the Olympic Flame for Milano Cortina 2026. (Rich Polk/2026GG/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Heated Rivalry stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie are among the torch bearers set to carry the Winter Olympic Flame for Milano Cortina 2026, and fans of the hit hockey drama are going wild.
The stars have been selected as torch bearers during the Olympic Torch Relay, which will conclude on 6 February in Milan.
Their participation was confirmed in a release on Thursday (22 January), which described the series as being “very successful in the countries where it has been broadcast so far”.
Heated Rivalry, an adaption of Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novel series, follows two rising stars in the ice hockey world – closeted Canadian prodigy Shane (Williams) and bisexual Russian star (Storrie) – who begin an illicit, closeted romance.
Following the show airing, the pair quickly became the internet’s boyfriends, thanks to their steamy scenes.
Fans reacted joyfully to the news that Williams and Storrie would be part of the Olympic Torch Relay. One simply said: “God I love this for them.” Another added “our bbys back together” with two sobbing emojis. A third called it an “insane honor.”
Late last year, in welcome news for fans, the show was renewed for a second run by Crave and HBO Max. The second series will be inspired by Reid’s book The Long Game and will introduce a new couple.
Reid shared that the two new characters will be drawn from another book, she said: “I think it’s going to be mostly The Long Game… but there’s another book, Role Model, that kind of overlaps it.”
Role Model focuses on Troy Barrett and Harris Drover, whose love story could run alongside Shane and Ilya’s.
Real life hockey couple Anna Kjellbin and Ronja Savolainen, who play on different teams in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), will face off against each other at the Winter Olympics in northeastern Italy. The couple are engaged to be married.
The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will be broadcast across Europe by HBO Max, which has the rights to the Crave Original series. In the US, the games will be broadcast on NBC and streamed live on Peacock.
In Italy, Heated Rivalry will broadcast from February on HBO Max.
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