TI3 Champions: Alliance – Where are they now?

The International 2013 was one of, if not the best, TI’s to ever take place.

Interesting storylines, exploitative buggy plays and heart wrenching moments were the flavour of the tournament.

It was also the first TI where Valve introduced “crowdfunding” to bolster the prize pool via the purchase of compendiums.

One team in particular stood out strong throughout the year and went into the event as the heavy favourites to win – and win they did.

The team was none other than Alliance, who dominated the competitive circuit throughout the year and saw it through to win TI3 versus NAVI in an epic best-of-five grand finals series.

Let’s take a look at the current whereabouts of the roster.

Loda

Image Source: Alliance

One of DotA’s early stalwarts, Loda, made a name for himself with the legendary SK Gaming roster.

Seeing his career progress nowhere in DotA, he later made the switch to HoN and returned back to his roots after Valve announced that it’d be developing Dota 2.

Before forming Alliance (ex-NoTideHunter), Loda competed under the banner of Counter Logic Gaming and Zenith, and found decent success.

However, it was Alliance that catapulted him to worldwide fame where along with his teammates, he deployed the “rat” strategy and frustrated the heck out of his opponents.

The same determination led to Loda lifting his first ever Aegis of the Immortal at TI3.

Loda is now the co-owner/CEO of Alliance, and is actively involved in curating young minds into powerhouses.

s4

Image Source: Alliance

The son of Magnus, as he is fondly known, was a terrifying sight to behold especially for his opponents.

One of the most promising midlaners during that period, s4 played spectacularly well, particularly on Batrider and Magnus.

He created huge space for the team and was the playmaker, and that led him to win TI3 alongside his teammates.

Besides Alliance, s4 briefly played for Team Secret, OG Esports, Evil Geniuses and was once again seen in action in Alliance colours at TI10.

It appears that the veteran is taking a breather as of now, and it’ll be interesting to see how his future plays out.

AdmiralBulldog

Image Source: PGL

The donger and the rat king, AdmiralBulldog, came to fame after standing-in for NAVI – all thanks to Dendi.

The latter is credited to have spotted the former’s talent especially on his signature hero; Lone Druid, having played thousands of games.

Shortly after NAVI’s brief stand-in stint, he joined NTH which later got picked by Alliance, and the rest as they say is history.

At present, he’s the co-owner, streamer as well as the official substitute for Alliance.

EGM

Image Source: DreamHack

After being around on a number of teams without finding much success, EGM would later go on to join Alliance in early 2013, and quickly cement himself as one of the best position 4 players in the scene.

This proved to be only the beginning of a long sweep of tournament wins for EGM and his team, as he would eventually lift the coveted Aegis at TI3.

After a disappointing TI4 and being unable to defend his title, EGM left Alliance and in subsequent years bounced around from one team to another.

The last time he played competitively was for GODSENT in 2019, and has been absent from competitive play since 2020.

His current whereabouts are unknown.

Akke

Image Source: ESL ONE Frankfurt

Akke is mostly known for his camaraderie with Loda, and together both of them are one of the original dynamic duos in the industry.

His subtle and intelligent plays in the hard support role acted as Alliance’s backbone on one too many occasions.

Known for his impeccable plays on Chen, Enchantress and Keeper of the Light, Akke’s highest accolade was winning TI3.

After a string of poor and disappointing results in the ensuing years post TI3, Akke marched out of the competitive scene with his head held high.

Currently, he co-owns Alliance alongside Loda and AdmiralBulldog, and also has his own private company.