Zai: A Career Worth More Than An Aegis

Ludwig “Zai” Wahlberg took his hands off of his keyboard and walked over to congratulate the Gaimin Gladiators in Climate Pledge Arena, the home of The International 2023, Dota’s largest annual tournament. In a span of his nearly decade long career, the 26 year old had attended almost every International [TI] he could have. Across nearly ten Internationals and many more Majors, he had seen plenty of victories, losses, and moments like these. However, this tournament was different.

This one would be his last. As he stepped up to do the loser’s interview with Tsunami, Zai told a stadium of cheering Dota fans that this would be his final International with the same sarcastic, dry wit that he had been known for throughout his time as a professional.

Zai’s final interview with Tsunami at The International 2023 after their 5-6th place finish.

It is extremely strange for anyone outside the world of esports to put the words 26-year-old and retirement in the same sentence. For most, their lives are just starting at 26 years old. Zai, on the other hand, had written a decade-long chapter of Dota by his mid-20s. A chapter that will likely go down as one of the most decorated and unique in the history of the game.

Despite never winning TI and lifting the Aegis of Champions, Zai had one of the most successful careers that Dota had ever seen. He not only holds a special place in the hearts of fans as a consistent winner but also as a personality that grew up along with all the Dota 2 fans that first got into the game in its heyday of 2013-14. Over his time in Dota he has played multiple roles, in game and within the structure of a team. He has been the glue that has kept teams together and the compass that led teams to victory. And he has been a fixture of Dota for so many fans of the esport, going all the way back to 2014, to North America, and to Evil Geniuses.

Origins in Heroes of Newerth and Evil Geniuses (2014)

Zai started his professional gaming a decade ago in 2013 and started where a lot of today’s Dota professionals started, Heroes of Newerth [HoN]. Zai would meet a lot of future Dota professionals in HoN such as LIMMP, Handsken, Insania, and most importantly, Peter “PPD” Dager. While Heroes of Newerth and Dota competed for a while, the exponential rise of The International prize pool was too hard to ignore. In 2014, PPD and Zai decided to switch over to Dota to have a shot at the nearly $11 million pot of The International 2014. An absurd number for any sport, much less one played on a computer.

Zai and PPD eventually found three others to join their team - Fear, UNiVeRsE and Arteezy. These players formed the core of one of, if not the most decorated Dota team that came out of North America: Evil Geniuses. For the longest time, North American Dota had been a running joke. Despite it being the region where Valve developed the game, North America had no top 8 finishes at previous Internationals. At The International 2014, Evil Geniuses would shift that narrative. The underdog North Americans earned an 11-2 record in the group stage and a 3rd place finish. In his first year as a professional Zai had shattered expectations and contributed to earning him and his team $1 million.

Despite such a large win and an incredible run, Zai’s demeanor never really changed. In an interview at The International 2014 done by HotBid, Zai talked about balancing his school work with Dota practice, finding out about American tipping culture and his love of free refills at the Detroit airport Chili’s.

“If you win TI [The International] you should give [your waitress] a $100 tip,” HotBid remarked. “Tell her you’re a big shot now and that you have $1 million.”

This was a part of Zai’s draw to the fans, across his nearly decade long career, he never felt like he was out of reach. He’s just like one of your friends, he’s just really really good at Dota.

Role swaps, super teams, and school breaks (2015-2018)

After the 2014 season, Zai switched not only his team but his position, moving over from support to offlane and joining what was considered Dota’s first “superteam” — Team Secret. He was invited by a Dota legend who would play a big role in his life, Clement “Puppey” Ivanov, one of the best captains in Dota history. Team Secret looked “super” right away, and had one of the most successful runs leading up to the International 2015, rattling off four big tournament wins in a row. As the International 2015 drew closer, the hype only rose, but so did the pressure.

It cannot be overstated how favored Team Secret were going into the International 2015. It’s what made it so painful when they exited TI 2015 at 7th place.

Despite finishing 2nd in their group, Team Secret were sent to the lower bracket. What happened next was straight out of a Shakespearean play. Team Secret swaggered onto the stage wearing sunglasses, confident as ever. They would leave the stadium with a loss to Virtus pro, a team that almost got knocked out in the group stages.

Despite having one of the most dominant regular seasons in Dota history, Zai missed out on The International title once again. As if there wasn’t enough dramatic irony, PPD and Evil Geniuses won the International 2015. This would begin Zai’s streak of falling just shy of the Aegis.

Zai learned a lot from the loss and from Secret. Particularly, he realized that playing Dota was not all there was to life. With a much more holistic perspective in mind, Zai took time off of Dota to finish school in 2016.

“I see myself, sometime in the future not playing Dota anymore,” Zai said in an interview with Kaci Atchison at the International 2016. “In order for me to work a normal job or to continue my education, it was important for me to finish school.”

Zai took a break and, despite fears of rust and new metas, came back even stronger. This time, he returned to his old home in NA, Evil Geniuses. He would have the opportunity to play with most of his old teammates from his first run, with the addition of Sumail - a 16 year old Pakistani immigrant that won an International with Evil Geniuses in his first year of competition.

Striving for another shot at the Aegis, Zai managed to join the team just before TI 2016 began. In the same interview at The International 2016, Zai admitted that the last minute return shook his confidence. He mentions how he felt more confident in 2015, like he belonged on Dota’s first ever superteam. In 2016, he felt that he shouldn't have even been at TI. The gulf in confidence didn’t mean a gulf in results, though. Zai helped EG to third place , repeating his first result with them and improving from his prior TI on Secret.

It was no fluke either, Zai played hot at TI 2016. If there was something to remember about Zai’s second tenure at Evil Geniuses, it would be his Elder Titan juke at The International 2016. It was so famous that in an International spotlight segment about “jukes”, his play was highlighted specifically. The camera pans to him and you see the same shy smile that Zai is known for.

Success like that is not easy to maintain and Zai’s next two years were low points in his long career. In 2017, Zai continued on with Evil Geniuses but once again a strong season seemed to collapse at TI.

Seeking a change of scenery, Zai moved to another one of North America’s oldest esports organizations, Optic Gaming, and during this time, he would work with his eventual Team Liquid replacement many years down the line, 33. The partnership did not click immediately and Zai would need to take on a deeply sacrificial style in order to enable 33 and push Optic up the standings. 33 would eventually become one of the more accomplished and veteran offlaners in Dota, but at the time he was a mechanically gifted newcomer. Zai’s leadership and veterancy helped establish 33 and get Optic to TI, but that wasn’t enough to reach the top. They finished at 7th place in TI 2018 and across role swaps, super teams, and school breaks, Zai continued to strive for a dream that he was a hair’s breadth away from reaching.

The rekindling of the Zai Puppey relationship (2019-2020)

In 2019 Zai got the opportunity to join a brand new version of Team Secret and return to his former captain, Puppey. Along with the legendary leader, Zai would find another player that would shape his career, Michal “Nisha” Jankowski — a promising but unproven Polish prospect.

The prospect paid off and the team immediately dominated the season, taking 1st place at the Chongqing and Paris Majors that year, as well as ESL One Birmingham. As was so often the case for Zai, though, the success would not carry to the end of the year and the squad would fall out at 4th in TI 2019.

After the 2019 season, to get over that hump, Team Secret would make one of the most pivotal roster changes in Zai’s career, adding MATUMBAMAN to their roster. Matu was an amazing carry player, a former International champion and more importantly, he would become a lifelong friend for Zai.

The next year, 2020, was one of Zai’s (and Secret’s) most successful years. From May to September, Team Secret won eight tournaments in a row. They were truly on another level, 3-0ing many opponents along the way. However, it seems that the universe would always find a way to prevent Zai from lifting the Aegis of Champions. Right as Team Secret was in position to win it all, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and The International was canceled for that year, along with every other live sporting event on the planet.

Despite performing better than ever, Zai maintained his humble perspective on the competition and didn’t take much for granted. After a 3-0 Grand Finals at OMEGA League, he still felt challenged.

“For us, even if the result is a sweep, for us, I don’t feel like it's always easy or simple,” Zai said. “Even if the result is 3-0 it was still challenging and exhausting to play.”

In 2021, the challenge only increased and the team didn’t win a single Major in the year. They were still able to squeak into The International 2021, though, and it looked like a Zai-squad might have finally peaked at the right time. In an empty stadium in Bucharest, Romania, Team Secret would make an incredible upper bracket run, sweeping every team they faced, until they were stopped by the two final teams in the tournament — PSG.LGD and the dark horse Team Spirit. Despite a valiant return to form, they placed third.

Still, Zai was carrying the lessons of all these teams and tournament runs with him. Being around legendary captains like PPD and Puppey shaped Zai's development as a player. Through every trial and tribulation, he was finding his own form of leadership. While Zai was never going to be the charismatic, speech-giving captain that pumps his team up before a match, he would eventually become the rock of a Team Liquid roster that would be pretty successful in the future.

The final era: Liquid.Zai

As his final move of his career, Zai and MATUMBAMAN decided to join Team Liquid for one last ride. In a Team Liquid article on the move from 2021, Zai mentioned how the Finnish carry player joining him was never part of the plan.

“Matu came into the picture a little bit later, and wasn’t really a part of my decision making process,” Zai said. “It seems that I can’t escape him. He just follows me!”

Although Zai joked about escaping Matu, he knew that this was going to be his last year playing alongside his friend. Matu planned on retiring after TI 2022 and one last run on the team where he’d found his greatest successes.

Unfortunately, Liquid didn’t see those same successes in 2022 and Zai’s run to The International 2022 was his most difficult yet. Before TL even made it to the competition, they had to go through two rounds of qualifiers. When Team Liquid lost their regional qualifier against Zai’s former team, Team Secret, many had written their season off entirely.

Zai and TL would need to make it through a daunting Last Chance Qualifiers full of teams that had outperformed them in the year. However, Team Liquid finally found their footing. They powered through the LCQ, made it into TI, and performed well in the Group Stage, making it into the upper bracket of playoffs.

The team fell into the lower bracket early, but they had become resilient under Matu’s leadership. They scratched and clawed their way back to the top 3 by winning a slew of very close sets. At one point,in a nail biting 51 minute game against Thunder Awaken, the team’s fate came down to a single health point, Matu delivering one last clutch moment before retirement. Liquid would lose to Team Secret, giving Zai another bronze medal — though it came with an incredible story.

In the final year of Zai’s career, Team Liquid lost Matu and it was decided that Zai would step up to take his old friend’s role as team leader. All of his years of learning from leaders such as Puppey and PPD would culminate in one last attempt at the Aegis of Champions. Because, like his friend Matu, Zai knew at the beginning of the year that he would retire.

With Zai at the helm, Team Liquid would become incredibly consistent. They won both the Dota Pro Circuit regular seasons that year, but Zai's fate of being “close but not quite” seemed stronger than ever. Team Liquid placed 2nd at Riyadh Masters, The Bali Major and ESL One Berlin, all culminating in a 5th-6th placing at the International 2023.

Still, Zai’s leadership and ability in the clutch were a marvel to watch. Zai kept Liquid leagues above any team not named “Spirit” or “Gaimin Gladiators.” Sometimes he did it single-handedly, including a heroic split push against Talon that saved Liquid’s series at Riyadh Masters.

Insania talking about this year’s run in 2023

Still, if this was Hollywood, the story would have ended with Zai raising the Aegis of Champions. Instead, this is Dota, one of the most difficult games on the planet, and Zai’s story ended at 5th place in TI.

Close, but never enough.

It might be tempting to view Zai’s career solely from this lens, but it would be just as valid to see Zai as one of the most consistent winners in Dota. He has more top 8 International finishes than almost any Dota player in history and has attended every single International in the course of his career, with 4 of his 9 finishes within the top 3.

In that way, Zai’s career mirrored his personality. Just as he consistently found his way to the top, he also maintained his shy, stoic and dry humored demeanor throughout his career. That consistency is what makes Zai important to Dota fans. Over the last decade, he had quietly become a fixture of the scene. Every fan got to see him grow up with them, across every TI.

Even in his retirement, Zai isn’t gone either. He will be the first player in Dota history to transition to the role of general manager. Many have become coaches but few have had the chance to build a team (that they’re not on, anyways). And who knows? After all the leaders he’s worked with, all the team dynamics he’s seen, he might find his Aegis not as a player but as the architect of a championship winning team.