Alliance are set to make their fourth ESL One appearance at ESL One Frankfurt 2016 next month, making them one of the mainstays of the tournament. But the Swedish squad has yet to take the final step, having missed out on the grand final in each of their previous attempts. This time around, with the Manila Major taking place just before ESL One Frankfurt, they will get all the practise they could hope for on the new patch 6.87 and we can’t wait to find out if Alliance is well and truly b[A]ck!

The team

Position	Player	Most played heroes (patch 6.87)
Carry	Loda
Mid	s4
Offlane	AdmiralBulldog
Support	EGM
Support	Akke

It’s still fairly early in the 6.87 meta and heroes that are played in one week can be forgotten in the next - R.I.P. Mirana. But what’s fair to say is that Phoenix is here to stay and Alliance, much like the rest of the pro teams, have incorporated the balanced Sun Ray distributer amongst their signature Alliance heroes. Looking at the recent [A] drafts overall, many of the players are enjoying time on some of their most renowned heroes like the Bulldog Prophet, s4 Puck and EGM Rubick. And everybody knows what they are capable of when they are in their comfort zone. But the sample size for stats on patch 6.87 is still very limited with Alliance only being involved in one tournament since the patch came out.

Recent performances

As much as fans love to say that Alliance are back, recent results show that there is definitely enough room for improvement. The fact that they were direct invites to all their recent tournaments means that they have only played a total of 31 games over the past three months, while other teams have gotten many more chances to practise and gain valuable LAN experience. Nonetheless, Alliance have shown that they can take games and matches off any team they face, so we are sure to see Alliance in top form at ESL One Frankfurt in the wake of the Manila Major.

• Record over last 3 months: 16-15
• Record on patch 6.87: 5-7
• Recent tournament results
  • Shanghai Major: 7th-8th place
  • StarLadder i-League Invitational: 5th-6th place
  • Epicenter: 5th-6th place

Recent matchups against ESL One Frankfurt teams

Looking at Alliance’s recent performances against their fellow ESL One Frankfurt 2016 contestants makes one thing apparent - OG are their boogeyman. The boys in green have repeatedly put a stop to Alliance’s efforts in past tournaments and it will be interesting to see whether or not the Swedes can cook up a counter by the time Frankfurt comes around.

OG

• 1-2 at StarLadder i-League Invitational
• 0-2 at Epicenter
• 0-2 at Epicenter

Fnatic

• 2-0 at Shanghai Major

compLexity

• 1-2 at Shanghai Major

LGD

• 1-2 at StarLadder i-League Invitational

Witness Alliance in action in Frankfurt!

Alliance have another shot at claiming their first ESL One trophy in Frankfurt this year. Are they ready? Don’t forget that you can find the most recent news and updates regarding ESL One Frankfurt 2016 on the official website.

Alliance are only the first team preview, with more to follow in the coming days and weeks. So make sure keep an eye out for all the latest news and articles by following ESL Dota 2 on Twitter and Facebook.