Team Liquid returns to Dota 2 by signing ex Alliance roster

Steven Rondina Published 02/10/2019

Team Liquid is back in the Dota 2 business.

According to a series of tweets by the players, Liquid has acquired the former roster of Alliance. Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi and Max “qojqva” Bröcker tweeted that they were happy to announce the signing, which was then confirmed by Liquid with a series of retweets.

“Extremely excited to finally be able to announce that we’re part of Team Liquid,” iNSaNiA said on Twitter. “It’s an honor to be able to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest dota teams in history.”

Alliance had a transformative year in 2019. While the organization has a pedigree of success stemming from its victory at The International 2013, it steadily declined in the years that followed, with the team routinely struggling in tournaments by the end of 2017.

The organization did a heavy overhaul of its roster in 2017 and while the results didn’t come quickly, things steadily improved for the squad as it stuck together. That stability paid off in time with Alliance qualifying for The International 2019. It suffered an early exit from the event, but still looked relatively strong in defeat.

The roster remained intact, but announced its split from the Alliance organization in September. It was unclear where the team would land, but the new partnership between the squad and Team Liquid makes sense.

Liquid Dota 2 is back after departure of KuroKy

In September, Liquid made the surprise announcement that its enduring, Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi-led roster was set to split off from the organization. This was preceded by a second-place performance at TI9 that was worth over $4 million.

According to Liquid’s statement, this stemmed from the team’s desire to start its own organization. It’s a situation that hearkens back to KuroKy’s role in forming Team Secret following The International 2014.

While that was a big blow for Liquid, the team was clear that it had no intention of leaving Dota 2. There are several sponsorless teams available at the moment, but the ex-Alliance team was the clear best group available in Europe.

This will actually be something of a test for Liquid. The organization has been among the best in every game it competes in of late, fielding top teams in League of Legends, PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and more. While the former Alliance team is a good one, it in the middle of a hotly contested European pack at the moment.

Liquid will be tasked with helping the team reach its full potential. Its first test will come in a few days, with the start of the qualifiers for the Dota Summit 11 and MDL Chengdu Major.

Steven Rondina

About Steven Rondina

Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.

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