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zai

From Liquipedia Dota 2 Wiki

[e][h]Team LiquidTeam Liquid zai
Player Information
Name:
Ludwig Wåhlberg
Birth:
August 5, 1997 (1997-08-05) (age 24)
Country:
Sweden Sweden
Status:
Active
Team:
Team Liquid
Alternate IDs:
mmbzai, ZAIZAIZAIZAIZAI
Role(s):
Offlaner
Support
Signature Hero:
Enigma Batrider Dark Seer
Approx. Total Earnings:
$3,252,924
Links
History
2013-??-?? — 2013-11-22
2013-11-22 — 2013-12-23
2014-01-31 — 2014-02-21
2014-02-21 — 2015-01-06
2015-01-06 — 2015-08-30
2015-08-30 — 2016-05-23
2016-05-23 — 2016-06-13
2016-06-13 — 2016-08-27
2016-09-15 — 2017-08-30
2017-09-05 — 2017-09-26
2017-09-26 — 2018-09-05
2018-09-05 — 2021-11-03
2021-11-03 — Present
Upcoming Matches
Liquid Team LiquidTeam Liquid
vs
(Bo3)
 Team TicklesTeam Tickles Tickles
December 11, 2021 - 14:00 UTC
Liquid Team LiquidTeam Liquid
vs
(Bo3)
 Tundra EsportsTundra Esports Tundra
December 15, 2021 - 14:00 UTC
Liquid Team LiquidTeam Liquid
vs
(Bo3)
 Team SecretTeam Secret Secret
December 21, 2021 - 17:00 UTC
Upcoming Tournaments
DPC WEU 2021/22 Tour 1: Division I DPC WEU 2021/22 Tour 1: Division I
ONGOING!
Nov 30 - Jan 22

Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg is a Swedish professional Dota 2 player who is currently playing for Team Liquid.

Biography[edit]

Despite his very young age, zai made a name for himself in Heroes of Newerth, playing on teams such as Trademark eSports and compLexity Gaming, and winning DreamHoN 2012 at the age of 14. In 2013 he transitioned to Dota 2 alongside fellow HoN pros Ensoe, Tralfamadore and, most importantly ppd, with whom he found quick success with team Stay Free and later Super Strong Dinosaurs. In late January 2014, he transferred to the support role and joined ppd, Arteezy and EG players Fear and UNiVeRsE in team S A D B O Y S, which would mark the start of his breakthrough in the Dota 2 scene. As S A D B O Y S went 16-2 in games in their twenty days of playing together, the team caught the attention of Evil Geniuses. On the 21st of February 2014, S A D B O Y S and zai were picked up by Evil Geniuses.[1]

On 6th January 2015 it was announced that zai had left EG to join Team Secret and he'd be switching back to the offlane role.[2][3]

After Team Secret's 7th-8th finish at The International 5, zai left the team to complete his high school education.[4] When the substitute player slot was introduced by Valve along with the Major system zai became the official substitute of EG.[5] Players are permitted to be registered to more than one team (but are only allowed to accept one invite to a Major tournament)[6], and zai utilised this to join Kaipi after completing his studies, whilst still remaining the official substitute for EG.[7]

On 12th of June 2016 it was announced that zai would be rejoining EG along with UNiVeRsE,[8] mere weeks before The International 2016. Despite having to go through the Open and Closed Qualifiers, the team managed to qualify for TI and reach 3rd place.

Zai remained at EG for another year as part of a new lineup with his friend Arteezy, led by Danish captain Cr1t-. Despite a strong start to the season, the team was unable to keep up the strong performances culminating in a disappointingly early finish at The International 2017. Following TI7, zai chose to leave EG to form a new team with his former captain, PPD. This team would soon be picked up by OpTic Gaming.

At OpTic, zai would switch back to the offlane. However, the team was unable to achieve any meaningful success. In December 2017, zai switched back to being roaming support, with 33 replacing him in the offlane, and performances markedly improved. Despite a decent season and a top eight finish at The International 2018, zai decided to depart OpTic and return to Team Secret, where he would once again play in the offlane.

Following another third place finish at The International 2021, after over three years at Secret, zai departed from Team Secret to join Team Liquid. [9][10]

Statistics[edit]

Stats from datdota as of 26-Sep-2021.

Achievements[edit]

DatePlaceTierTournamentTeamResultPrize
2021-10-17CA3rdA0Tier 1The International 2021The International 2021Team SecretTeam SecretTeam Secret1 : 2Team SpiritTeam Spirit$3,601,600
2020-09-06AA1stA0Tier 1OMEGA League: Europe Immortal DivisionOMEGA League: Europe Immortal DivisionTeam SecretTeam SecretTeam Secret3 : 0OGOG$200,000
2020-01-26AA1stA0Tier 1DreamLeague Season 13DreamLeague Season 13Team SecretTeam SecretTeam Secret3 : 2Evil GeniusesEvil Geniuses$300,000
2019-08-25DA4thA0Tier 1The International 2019The International 2019Team SecretTeam SecretTeam Secret0 : 2Team LiquidTeam Liquid$2,059,804
2019-05-12AA1stA0Tier 1MDL Disneyland® Paris MajorMDL Disneyland® Paris MajorTeam SecretTeam SecretTeam Secret3 : 1Team LiquidTeam Liquid$350,000
2019-01-27AA1stA0Tier 1The Chongqing MajorThe Chongqing MajorTeam SecretTeam SecretTeam Secret3 : 1Virtus.proVirtus.pro$350,000
2017-05-28AA1stA0Tier 1The Manila MastersThe Manila MastersEvil GeniusesEvil GeniusesEvil Geniuses3 : 1NewbeeNewbee$125,000
2016-08-13CA3rdA0Tier 1The International 2016The International 2016Evil GeniusesEvil GeniusesEvil Geniuses1 : 2Digital ChaosDigital Chaos$2,180,898
2015-08-08GA7 - 8thA0Tier 1The International 2015The International 2015Team SecretTeam SecretTeam Secret1 : 2Virtus.proVirtus.pro$829,333
2014-07-20CA3rdA0Tier 1The International 2014The International 2014Evil GeniusesEvil GeniusesEvil Geniuses1 : 2Vici GamingVici Gaming$1,037,778
Complete list of results in any tournament

Gallery[edit]

Interviews[edit]

  • 2014
  • 2015
  • 2016
  • 2017
  • 2018
  • 2019
  • 2020
  • Show All

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Evil Geniuses Welcome New Dota 2 Team
  2. ↑ Team Secret January 6th Roster Change
  3. ↑ Other EG Players Speak Out on Transfer Drama
  4. ↑ [1]
  5. ↑ [2]
  6. ↑ [3]
  7. ↑ [4]
  8. ↑ [5]
  9. ↑ [6]
  10. ↑ [7]
Team Liquid Roster
Team
Roster
Staff
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