Guys-guys-guys and Apostle of Our Time: RAMZES666

The Esquire list and “apostle of our time”

In February 2019, Russian Esquire included RAMZES666 in a feature on “apostles of our time,” alongside Big Baby Tape, Ivan Bessonov, and others. Sources don't give the magazine's exact publication date; what's known is that on February 27, 2019, Cybersport.ru summarized the piece and called the player “the main hope of Russian esports.”

Sources describe the format differently: Cybersport.ru's 2019 memes roundup calls “apostle of our time” the headline of the Esquire article, while its February 27 piece treats it more as the name of the list RAMZES was part of. According to Cybersport.ru, the magazine's list had twelve people on it.

A nickname on broadcasts and in the top memes

According to Cybersport.ru, fans liked the phrase's grandeur and turned “apostle of our time” into RAMZES666's nickname, and casters worked it into broadcasts, for example with jokes like “The apostle didn't save up for a buyback.” The outlet names Twitch as the meme's main amplifier and notes that the volume of “apostle” messages tracked Virtus.pro's results.

In Cybersport.ru's top 10 memes of 2019, it took third place. The top spot in that ranking went to the Dead Inside meme, and second place to the Cooman copypasta.

TI9 and the Virtus.pro film

At The International 2019, Virtus.pro finished 9th–12th after being eliminated by RNG. On September 25, 2019, the team posted a film about the tournament on YouTube, with player interviews and voice-chat recordings from matches against PSG.LGD and RNG.

Viewers noticed how the team's comms sounded: commenters on dota2.ru pointed out the endless “guys.” The dota2.ru news posts don't attribute the phrase to a specific player. According to Cybersport.ru, “Guys-guys-guys” is a phrase RAMZES kept repeating in the film: the players said the captaincy and in-game leadership had fallen to him. The meme placed ninth in the top 10 memes of 2019.

According to dota2.ru, Virtus.pro's TI9 roster was No[o]ne, RodjER, Solo, 9pasha and RAMZEs, with ArsZeeqq as coach. The film covered the reasons for the failure and showed moments that never made the broadcast; in interviews, the players talked about conflicts within the team, the captain's role and the situation at the Kuala Lumpur Major. VP's general manager called the film “a new standard of openness,” and v1lat said he hoped more content like it would follow.

After TI9, RAMZES666, 9pasha, and coach ArsZeeqq left Virtus.pro.

“Guys, guys...” in Twitch chat

Today people type the phrase on Twitch and Twitter to get attention (“guys, guys...”) or to cheer a team on. Cybersport.ru notes that the meme stayed tied to Virtus.pro and RAMZES, and that the phrase fits almost any situation in Dota 2; all that matters is the intonation.

There's also an image template for the meme. Commenters on dota2.ru joked that the constant “guys” didn't sound much like clear calls.

RAMZES smiling in a doorway

The catalog image shows a young RAMZES in a Virtus.pro jersey. He's standing in a doorway with a wide, strained smile. It's a portrait of the player, not a still from the TI9 film.

Captions with “guys” and “apostle”

“Apostle” is used for praise, “guys-guys-guys” for panic or rallying everyone. These examples are made up for illustration:

“Guys, guys, guys, Roshan!” “The apostle of our time grabs another Rampage.” “Guys-guys-guys, the deadline's in an hour, has anyone even opened the ticket?”