Alliance and their TI3 championship series against Na'Vi will always be remembered as "El Clásico" in Dota 2 history. So where are they now?
By the time The International 3 came around, Dota 2 had already started to create quite a lot of hype and was in swift meta-development.
Na’Vi had taken the first championship title at GamesCom 2011 show in Cologne when Dota 2 made its debut.
Invictus Gaming was one of the 14 directly invited teams to TI2 after placing top 6 at The International 2011. They bounced back from the lower bracket rounds by having to eliminate three other Chinese teams and took revenge over the defending champions to become the first Chinese team to win The International.
Returning once again to Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Washington, TI3 boasted the highest prize pool yet —$2,874,381 thanks to the introduction of the compendium and crowdfunding.
The starting prize pool was $1,600,000, and Valve raised an additional $1,374,381 through the sales to the community. This would be a drop in the ocean compared to the amount that was funded by the crowd in each following year.
Alliance took down Na'Vi in an epic 5 game series that is still hailed today by many as one of the best moments in Dota 2 history and gave these teams the "El Clásico" moniker.
AllianceNoTidehunter emerged in late September 2012 with Gustav "s4" Magnusson and Henrik 'AdmiralBulldog' Ahnberg. One month later Jonathan 'Loda' Berg and Joakim 'Akke' Akterhall joined the squad and then finally Jerry 'EGM' Lundkvist. The all-Swedish roster (later picked up by Alliance) was one of the most dominant teams of that year, earning first place in over ten major tournaments including G1-League, Star Series V, VI, and DreamHack Summer 2013.
Their most notable achievement was the first-place in The International 3, after a thriller 3-2 victory in the finals against Natus Vincere.
Alliance The International 2013 Championship roster:
Jonathan “Loda” Berg
Gustav “s4” Magnusson
Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg
Jerry “EGM” Lundkvist
Joakim “Akke” Akterhall
While the last few chapters and years of the Alliance story have been somewhat bitter, the 2013 roster will always be remembered as one of the most successful in professional DotA2.
So where are these historic players now?
Jonathan 'Loda' Berg
Loda is sometimes referred to "L-God" or "Living Legend". The Swedish player has won virtually everything he could have possibly won throughout his prolific Dota career, has been a mainstay on the professional and international circuit, a cornerstone in the competitive world, and most significantly for Alliance.
While he joined Alliance in April 2013, his extensive career started much earlier than that starting Dota 2 in 2011, spanning across two continents and several countries including China and Singapore- as one of the first Western players to join a SEA team.
In June 2018 Loda officially retired from competitive play and assumed the coach position, using his extensive experience and insight to guide the new generation of Alliance.
One can always find Loda around Alliance, after all, he is the Co-owner, CEO, and team director of the Swedish organization.
Gustav "s4" Magnusson
Rather successful as a Heroes of Newerth professional player, Gustav made a seamless transition to Dota 2 in 2012.
s4 was one of the founding members of the NoTidehunter squad. Within 1 year, he had become highly decorated and renowned for his mid-lane role. He was also the captain and led his team through an incredible year in 2013, seizing victories in merely every tournament they participated in, including the most prestigious one, The International 3.
s4's "million dollar dream coil" essentially won Alliance the TI3 Grand Finals. Gustav was on fire and became one of the quintessential names for the mid-lane role.
The season leading to The International 4 would prove to be somewhat less successful for the Swedish champions. After an eleventh-twelfth place finish at TI4, the famed mid-lane player would depart from the team, embarking on a new journey: Team Secret.
Following Team Secret's disappointing performance at StarLadder Season 12, s4 took on the role of captain and drafter, leading the team to four consecutive LAN wins. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to lead the team to victory at TI5, and in the post-shuffle, he returned to Alliance as they rebuilt their TI3 championship team for TI6 dreams.
The following years were a series of various top-tier team stints peppered with some returns to Alliance between.
His return to Alliance in December 2022 marked his fourth time playing for the Swedish organization.
Henrik 'AdmiralBulldog' Ahnberg
Henrik had been a part of Alliance since its formation in September 2012 until his departure in November 2014. Since then, he had played with Team Tinker as a stand-in between January and February of 2015 but had been mostly streaming and playing MMR usually in parties.
And then he headed back to Alliance in 2015 to revive their past success —or not. When Alliance parted ways with the roster post-TI6 shuffle, Henrik went back to his streams and broadcasting, finding his place with his fans and viewers to be highly successful.
Jerry 'EGM' Lundkvist
EGM joined No Tidehunter in February 2013 replacing Jacky 'EternalEnvy' Mao, becoming the final piece to the team's success.
After a disappointing 11th-12th place at TI4 with Alliance EGM started standing in for the newly formed Team Tinker, eventually leading to a full-time position. Over the years he bounced around from team to team with a return to Alliance twice.
He was last playing in 2019 for GODSENT and quietly left the scene without much fanfare —very apt for his personal and quiet presence on the scene.
Joakim 'Akke' Akterhall
Akke departed from Alliance in August 2016, announcing his new Alliance sister team - The Horde which had lasted only six months and disbanded after taking 2nd place in the Kyiv Major. His next team was even shorter-lived. Crescendo lasted only two months, disbanding in July 2017.
That was the last competitive team for Joakim.
As co-owner of Alliance and of Black Molly Entertainment Company, Akke is now also a software developer. A father to two kids Joakim can be found on his wholesome Instagram account perfecting the art of baking as a hobby.
