zai
zai 
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| April 23, 2020 - 00:00 UTC |
Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg is a Swedish professional Dota 2 player who currently plays for Team Secret.
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]
Following EG's underwhelming performance at 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.
Achievements[edit]
| Date | Place | Tier | Tournament | Team | Result | Prize | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-01-26 | 1st | Premier |  | DreamLeague Season 13 | | 3 : 2 |  | $300,000 |
| 2019-08-24 | 4th | Premier |  | The International 2019 | | 0 : 2 |  | $2,059,804 |
| 2019-05-12 | 1st | Premier |  | MDL Disneyland® Paris Major | | 3 : 1 | | $350,000 |
| 2019-01-27 | 1st | Premier |  | The Chongqing Major | | 3 : 1 |  | $350,000 |
| 2017-05-28 | 1st | Premier |  | The Manila Masters |  | 3 : 1 |  | $125,000 |
| 2016-08-13 | 3rd | Premier | | The International 2016 | | 1 : 2 |  | $2,180,898 |
| 2015-08-06 | 7 - 8th | Premier | | The International 2015 | | 1 : 2 |  | $829,333 |
| 2015-06-21 | 1st | Premier |  | ESL One Frankfurt 2015 | | 3 : 1 | | $118,481 |
| 2015-05-17 | 1st | Premier |  | The Summit 3 | | 3 : 1 | | $115,466 |
| 2014-07-20 | 3rd | Premier | | The International 2014 | | 1 : 2 |  | $1,037,778 |
| Complete list of results in any tournament | ||||||||
Gallery[edit]
Zai, 2015
Zai at DreamLeague Season 13, 2020
Interviews[edit]
2020[edit]
- 2020-01-20 |
zai: о замене MidOne, матчмейкинге и корейском кино | The Leipzig Major by Abso of Maincast at DreamLeague Season 13 (trans. 
)
2018[edit]
- 2018-05-30 | DotA Procast with BreakyCPK #1 - Guest OpTic.Zai by BTS
- 2018-07-05 | Vision - Season 5: Episode 5 "CATCH UP" by Optic Gaming
2017[edit]
- 2017-04-30 | The Kiev Major | Interview | ZAI - EG by Sheever of PGL at The Kiev Major 2017
- 2017-04-28 | The Kiev Major | Player Profile | Zai - Evil Geniuses by PGL at The Kiev Major 2017
2016[edit]
- 2016-08-09 | TI6 EG Team Interview by Kaci Aitchison of Valve at The International 2016
- 2016-07-11 | Swedish Sensation: The Return of zai by Chris Paredes of Evil Geniuses
2015[edit]
- 2015-07-29 | TI5 Community Report: Hot_Bid and zai by Hot_Bid of Valve at The International 2015
- 2015-05-16 | Team Secret's zai at The Summit 3 (Day 4) - theScore eSports by Matt Demers of theScore eSports at The Summit 3
- 2015-05-13 | Zai Interview by Hotbid (The Summit 3 by Gigabyte) by Hot_Bid of Beyond the Summit at The Summit 3
- 2015-02-03 | Team Secret Zai Interview @ DAC 2015 by Sheever of GosuGamers.net at Dota 2 Asia Championships
2014[edit]
- 2014-07-09 | TI4 Interview: zai and Hot_Bid by Hot_Bid of LiquidDota.com at The International 2014
- 2014-04-25 | Career interview with Ludwig 'Zai' Wåhlberg of Evil Geniuses by Sam "Wndwrt" Nordmark of onGamers
- 2014-03-05 | Interview: Inside Zai's Head by Justin Groot of Evil Geniuses
References[edit]
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