Interview with Dota 2 pro player Shad on playing with D2 Hustlers, stint with Viking.gg, personal reflections
I interview Indji “Shad” Lub on his career in Dota 2, his time with Vikin.gg, playing with D2 Hustlers, and more.
For a time, Vikin.gg took Dota 2 by storm. The team featured players such as Indji “Shad” Lub, Miroslav “BOOM” Bičan, Maurice “Khezu” Gutmann, Tobias “Tobi” Buchner, Adam “Aramis” Moroz, and Melchior “Seleri” Hillenkamp, the majority of which would come to represent the org after they defeated the latter’s founding iteration during an open qualifier tournament in late 2019.
Despite competing during the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic which ravaged the game’s competitive scene (leading to the cancellations of Majors and The International in 2020) by transitioning it to online-only events, the team emerged as one of the best squads in Western Europe by consistently challenging more established rivals like OG and Team Liquid.
That trajectory continued in 2021 where even after the Dota Pro Circuit was adjusted to its current format, Vikin.gg continued to roam within the highest crop of teams in WEU. Unfortunately, following their failure of qualifying for TI10, the team split up, prompting its players to look for opportunities elsewhere.
While some players would eventually join Tier-1 orgs following their time in Vikin.gg, for Shad in particular, his journey featured stints in Division II teams such as Into the Breach, EU Rejects, and D2 Hustlers.
With D2, Shad played as the team’s carry for the 2023 WEU DPC Winter Tour and helped them contend for one of the two promotion slots for Division I. Such a display sent the Hustlers to the brink of promotion, but consecutive losses to Monaspa and Alliance in the tiebreakers dashed any possibility of that happening.
Nonetheless, for all of the things that Shad experienced in the last two years, he is still going strong with his newest expedition in the DPC. As of the time of writing, he’s competing in the 2023 WEU DPC Spring Tour open qualifiers with a stack called ‘Betrayed’ alongside symetricaL, OwnedMe, Flash, and Mirage’.
In leaving such an distinctive blueprint in competitive Dota 2 history, I was intrigued over how Shad is doing with his career, so prior to the start of the open qualifiers, I interviewed him in the form of written questions on his experience with D2 Hustlers in the Winter Tour, the story behind his new ‘Betrayed’ stack, and his stint with Vikin.gg.
Furthermore, I asked him on how he viewed his former Vikin.gg teammate Seleri win the Lima Major with Gaimin Gladiators, and more.
Spring Tour with D2 Hustlers
You bounced around multiple teams within Western Europe before and after TI11 before ultimately joining D2 Hustlers. How did you spend your offseason?
Indji “Shad” Lub: I spent my off-season mainly on just grinding the leaderboards and improving as a player, building good habits and getting into a good routine and rediscovering what works for me so I can play my best. I also played a bit with No Bounty Hunter during that time just to kill time which was pretty fun as I’m friends with the guys.
Was there anything you particularly focused on in your game throughout that time span?
Shad: I was mainly focused on gaining mmr/proving myself so I would be on peoples’ radar for the reshuffle. Aside from that I was just trying to become a better all-around player, one thing I was a bit more focused on was consistency as that’s very important for climbing mmr.
You joined D2 Hustlers for the Winter Tour of the 2023 DPC season alongside Mirage’, Davai Lama, Alex, and Flash. How did that move come about?
Shad: I stood in for Ancient Tribe during D2CL [Dota 2 Champions League Season 12] who were playing with LeBron, Alex, Mirage`and Lama, where I guess I made a good impression. Lama asked me if I wanted to play with him, Alex and Mirage and it was the best offer I got so I accepted.
What was it like playing with that team and how did it differ from your past teams like Vikin.gg, EU Rejects, and Into the Breach?
Shad: I think this was the first team I felt like I could commit in after Vikin.gg. I joined EU Rejects simply because I wanted to see if my health would be any issue in pro Dota going forward and with ITB unfortunately I got health issues midway through the season. I think the biggest difference between D2 Hustlers and my past teams is that I felt a lot more freedom in this team. We didn’t have an org and started off without a coach as well so I just felt like it would be completely up to the players on how the team would develop.
By winning the open qualifiers, you earned a place in Division II of the WEU DPC. How do you view D2 Hustlers’ performance in Division II for this past tour?
Shad: We actually bought the slot so we did not play open qualifiers. Our performance was ok, our results were a bit disappointing. I think with how I played we probably should’ve gotten Top 2 and qualified to Div. 1 but s**t happens. Nothing to do about it anymore.
By finishing the regular season with a 5–2 record, you helped D2 force a three-way tie with Alliance and Monaspa, ultimately losing both of your matches against those teams. What prohibited the team from winning those tiebreaker matches against Alliance and Monaspa?
Shad: I think in the Monaspa game some of our players underperformed under pressure. After we lost to Monaspa we had no time to mentally reset as we just instantly had to play Alliance while they had an hour to reset from their loss. I think it was a bit unfair to us to instantly make us play again without a break as we were all just really disappointed about not making it to Div. 1. We couldn’t really focus on the Alliance game.
Trying to return to Division I
You have not been in Division I since Season I of the 2021 DPC (the very first split of the current DPC format). Why do you think it has been difficult to return to Div. I since that time?
Shad: Last year I was struggling with health issues so I don’t really want to count that. I actually did qualify for Div. 1 with Vikin.gg again, but we disbanded and Team Tickles ended up using the slot. This year, I think the game quality in Div. 2 is a lot higher than in previous seasons so it’s just harder to make it to Div. 1. Europe is just the most stacked region by far in Dota at the moment. As you can see, even Team Secret, who got 2nd at TI, is now relegated to Div. 2.
At the time of this interview, D2 Hustlers have already announced their next lineup and you’re not in it. Instead, you formed a new stack called “Betrayed” alongside Mirage’ again, symetricaL, OwnedMe, and Flash. How did that stack come together and why did you choose that name?
Shad: Well, none of the players really wanted to continue playing with Lama anymore after this season. Alex needed to have a more stable income with an org so he went to Ancient Tribe, so we had to decide whether we wanted to continue playing together with the three of us (and our coach ppd [Peter Dager]) and find a new offlaner and Position 4 to play open qualifiers with or explore different options. We decided to stay together and take our chances at open qualifiers and luckily managed to get a strong offlane and Pos. 4 duo in Sym and OwnedMe. As for the name, we just like the word betrayed…. definitely that’s why, yes…… Maybe it’ll make more sense when you see our logo though 🙂.
At the end of 2022, you played with Gaimin Gladiators as a substitute for the Betboom Xmas Show where you ultimately won. Given that you’ve played with them less than three months ago, did you expect GG to win the Lima Major?
Shad: I thought they had a pretty good chance, I expected them to get Top 3 at the very least. I expected Liquid to win the Major beforehand and was a bit unsure about the power level of teams of other regions, but after Boxi had to fly home, it felt pretty obvious to me that GG would win the entire Major.
Did you feel there was any difference in playing with Seleri at that event compared to how you guys were together in Vikin.gg?
Shad: Nah not really. I think neither of us changed much and we’ve always been on good terms. It felt natural.
For that event, you reunited with Seleri after previously playing together in Vikin.gg. As a former teammate, what did it mean to you to see Seleri win a Major?
Shad: I’m a bit sad I’m not the first Dutch player to win a major/valve event but I’m honestly really happy for him, as I said I’m on good terms with him.
Of all the things that has happened to you in your Dota career, you’re perhaps best known for your time with Vikin.gg from 2019 to 2021. Talking about the breakup of the team, how did that happen?
Shad: We were told I think one month before TI qualifiers that if we did not qualify to TI the organization would drop us. Aside from that, I think the atmosphere was getting a bit worse as well and we kind of got a bit tired of each other. After we lost TI qualifiers, we basically disbanded on good terms.
How will you remember your time in Vikin.gg and how has it molded your career from that point onwards?
Shad: Vikin.gg was my first real team in Dota and luckily for me, we ended up having a pretty good run. I see it as my roots I suppose. After we disbanded I wanted to try some other options and experience how other teams are like because Vikin.gg was all I knew. I learnt a lot in that team and my time there has had a really positive impact on me as a player and teammate. I look back fondly on it.
Have you remained in contact with your former Vikin.gg teammates?
Shad: I’m still on good terms with all of them, I think, but the only ones I’ve really been in contact with are Seleri, ImmortalFaith, and BOOM a little.
The 2022 season and reflections
Though initially you weren’t active on Twitter for the beginning portion of your career, you opened up a bit about experiencing health issues last year. How do you look back at the 2022 season both professionally and personally?
Shad: 2022 was pretty bad for me professionally, I think. I basically had a dead year Dota-wise. As for me personally, I think it was a necessary year for me. I experienced a lot of development as a person and I feel a lot better about myself and my life than I did before. The health situation really sucked but it’s a lot better now. I’ve always been frail and had bad health, but I think in the last year I’ve learned how to live with it a lot better. I had a lot of time to self reflect about a lot of things and I think I came out a stronger and better person because of this experience.
What prompted you to talk about your health issues during that time?
Shad: I just really wanted to share how I feel somewhere. I think it was my way of venting. .
What would you say has been the biggest difference in yourself from when you first started your pro Dota career and now?
Shad: Experience and confidence. I’ve also learnt a lot about being a better teammate. Playing in Vikin.gg gave me a lot more confidence in myself as a player and experience playing vs Tier-1 teams is very important as well.
I’m curious as to what is your favorite play in the Winter Tour with D2 Hustlers. Please provide a link to the point and your thought process behind how you executed it.
Shad: Some of my Chronos in Game 1 vs Ooredoo Thunders. There were some cool Blink-Chronos earlier as well. There wasn’t much thought behind it. I see four heroes I press Chrono.
Each person has their own expectations on what they want to do for this DPC season, so I’d like to know yours. What are your expectations for this year?
Shad: Honestly my goal this year is TI12 first place. I don’t know how realistic it is at the moment but that is still my goal. I am very motivated for it.
How would you want the professional Dota community to look at your career when all is said and done?
Shad: To be honest, it’s not very important to me how the community is going to think about me. I would prefer if they think of me positively, but in the end, what matters the most is that I can look back at my career without regrets. I will try my best to not let it end anytime soon though.
