Alliance drops Pajkatt, adjusts to life under Valve’s new tournament structure

One of the most storied organizations in Dota 2 is making changes, highlighting what life will be like for teams under Valve’s new majors system
Image via Alliance

One of the most storied organizations in Dota 2 is making changes, highlighting what life will be like for teams under Valve’s new majors system.

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Mid-laner Per “Pajkatt” Olsson is leaving Alliance, effective immediately. The team has already begun trying out new players to fill his spot. It hopes to determine a final roster by the end of the month.

The former Mousesports and LGD player joined the Swedish squad in January as they hoped to recapture their former glory. They’d seen a dip in results following a disappointing finish outside the top eight at The International in 2014.

But things didn’t go much better with Olsson. Alliance failed to win a title in 2015 and, more importantly, failed to qualify for The International. The team was unable to win even one series during the group stage of Europe’s qualifying touranment.

Olsson admitted to the team’s struggles in a statement, adding that he wished his former teammates the best moving forward.

“In the end, although we didn’t work out as a team, I still consider them good friends and I wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors,” Olsson said.

Both Jonathan “Loda” Berg and Joakim “Akke” Akterhall, former International winners, tried to address the team’s fortunes in separate statements.

Berg maintained that Alliance was still composed of skilled individual players but simply hadn’t been able to function as a team. He also shifted some blame for Alliance’s poor performance to the game’s most recent major patch and the squad’s inability to adjust to it.

Akterhall spoke more to the side’s practical concerns in the immediate future. Valve, now in control of the four annual major tournaments for Dota 2, requires teams looking to compete in the next major to have finalized rosters by Sept. 1.

The requirement gives teams like Alliance impetus to settle potential roster issues within a specific time frame. As such, the team is currently busy trying out potential fifth players with an eye on that September deadline.


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