It has now been close to two and a half years since Alliance was on top of the world of professional Dota. Early in 2013 the Swedish juggernaut featuring Henrik "AdmiralBulldog" Ahnberg, Jerry "EGM" Lundkvist, captain Gustav "s4" Magnusson along with Dota veterans Joakim "Akke" Akterhall and Jonathan "Loda" Berg became one of the first Western-based Dota teams to win a large-scale international event on Chinese soil.
In the summer the Swedes blew through the competition at The International (TI) 2013, finishing with a 24-3 overall record at the event, winning the war over rivals Natus Vincere in the finals and cementing their place as the best team in Dota for the year.