Alliance new roster revealed; Handsken, Limmp and Jonassomfan step in

The Alliance new roster remains fully Swedish as Jonathan “Loda” Berg and Jerry “EGM” Lundkvist picked up Simon “Handsken” Haag, Jonas “jonassomfan” Lindholm and Linus “Limmp” Blomdin. All three players have been teammates previously bringing forth established synergy and experience. In addition, Joakim “Akke” Akterhall and Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg will remain with the organization, taking upon other responsibilities. Alliance has already qualified for for WESG offline European and CIS qualifiers scheduled for October 6-9th.

The Alliance new roster has been announced– welcoming three previous teammates of Ninja’s in Pyjamas on board – Simon “Handsken” Haag, Jonas “jonassomfan” Lindholm and Linus “Limmp” Blomdin.

Alliance, a world-leading esport team, is announcing today the addition of Jonas “Jonassomfan” Lindholm, Linus “Limmp” Blomdin and Simon “Handsken” Haag to our Dota 2 roster. They will, together with Jonathan “Loda” Berg and Jerry “EGM” Lundkvist, complete the Alliance Dota 2 team.

Simon and Linus have been top competitors in the international Dota 2 scene for the past year and will bring their talent and experience to the team as they make their return to Sweden. While Jonas is a newer face he’s had plenty of competitive experience in the past, most notably on Ninjas in Pyjamas, and is without a doubt one of the most promising up and coming Swedish talents.

We’re thrilled to have them join us and believe that this mix of both old and new blood will bring with it a new and strengthened Alliance.

In November 2014 Handsken started with LAJONS – which eventually was picked up by Ninja’s in Pyjamas. When NiP disbanded after a disappointing year of results, he was then picked up by compLexity Gaming in November 2015 – moving to the United States and playing for the NA region until the post TI6 shuffle.

Limmp began his career with Stay Green – turned compLexity Gaming’s new Dota 2 squad in 2014. He was recruited to Ninaja’s in Pyjamas in February 2015 where he played alongside both Jonassomfan and Handsken for nine months. When the team disbanded, he accompanied Handsken to the United States to rejoin his former HON and Dota 2 Stay Green/compLexity Gaming teammates.

Jonas “jonassomfan” Lindholm was teammates with Handsken on LAJONS turned Ninja’s in Pyjamas – playing for the squad for more than one year. After NiP, the Swedish offlaner then had several short stints on various teams including No-Vaseline, Burden United, Avengers, COOKISS and Team Doge.

Alliance TI3 roster parts ways

At the end of August Alliance officially announced the departure of Gustav “s4” Magnusson, Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg and Joakim “Akke” Akterhall – putting an end to the reunited TI3 championship team.

s4 joined as part of the new OG roster while AdmiralBulldog had disclosed via ask.fm that he might take a break until after the next Dota 2 Major.

Joakim “Akke” Akterhall and Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg will be remaining with the organization in other capacities. Akke has assumed the title “Alliance talent” as the organization will be expanding into Hearthstone and Super Smash Bros Melee. AdmiralBulldog’s role has not yet been specified.

The new Alliance roster have already shown strong performances in the WESG Swedish qualifiers and will be making their LAN debut in Kiev, Octber 6-9th for the WESG offline European and CIS qualifiers.

Alliance’s 2015-2016 season

Alliance during The International 6 © Valve

In December 2015, Alliance recreated the lineup which brought them the Aegis of Champions at The International 3, by bidding welcome to former teammate and long-time friend, Jerry “EGM” Lundkvist.

Barely two weeks later, they nailed down their first championship title in one year and a half, at WCA 2015.

Less than a month later, they continued to sizzle, burning down the North American TI5 champions, EG, to take their second consecutive premier LAN championship title at the StarLadder iLeague StarSeries. Their games featured perfect execution and optimal team coordination, expected of a team that was once considered a Western juggernaut.

Alliance slipped a few notches, taking 7th-8th place at the Shanghai Major, where they were eliminated in a major upset by compLexity Gaming, 2:1. They then took the 5th-6th place at Starladder iLeague Dota Invitational and again at EPICENTER Moscow.

Placing in the 9th-12th ranks at the Manila Major, Alliance went on to finish 5th-6th at ESL One Frankfurt 2016 and third at Global Grand Masters.

Having been denied a direct invite for The International 6 following a year of hard work and slow but steady improvement in their results, the Swedes held their head high and rolled up their sleeves to once again prove their worth and claim the European qualifier spot.

Following a commendable run in the group stage, Alliance took their spot in the Main Event’s Upper Brackets, only to have their run cut short in the second round of the Lower Brackets. Fnatic put the final nail in Alliance’s coffin with an astounding two-game sweep, and the Swedes were left with a disappointing 9th-12th placement.