Salic "Hadji" Imam is one of the most decorated midlaners in MPL Philippines history. Two-time MPL champion. M3 World Champion. Regular Season MVP. And now, heading into MPL PH Season 17, he suits up for Team Falcons PH after a one-season stint at Smart Omega. His search numbers are spiking because fans know what this move means: Hadji now has one of the strongest rosters around him that he has had in years.
#Who Is Hadji?
Full name: Salic Alauya Imam Date of birth: April 23, 2003 Nationality: Filipino Role: Mid Laner (also plays Roamer) Current team: Team Falcons PH
Hadji plays under the ID he built his reputation with since Season 2 of MPL PH. Born in 2003, he became a professional player as a teenager, grinding through the early seasons of the league before his breakout moment with Blacklist International.
His hero pool covers most of what a modern mid laner needs. Chou, Yve, Pharsa, Xavier, and Valentina are the names that come up most often across his competitive career. What makes him dangerous is the range, not just the depth. He can go aggro in the mid lane or shift into a supportive, zone-controlling role depending on what the draft demands.
Fans call him the "KDA Machine" for a reason. Clean positioning. Low-death counts. High assist numbers. It is a style that fits inside systems built for team play, which is exactly why Blacklist got so much out of him.
#Career History: From SxC to Blacklist
Hadji started his MPL PH career in Season 2 with SxC Imbalance, a team that is barely remembered now but served as the proving ground for several players who would later reach the top. He bounced through different organizations across Seasons 2, 3, and 6, accumulating placements that never broke into the top two but showed enough to draw the attention of bigger teams.
Blacklist International picked him up and his career shifted completely.
In Season 8, Hadji was the defining piece of one of the most complete Blacklist rosters ever assembled. The "ULULU" meta that Blacklist built around OhMyV33NUS operated most effectively when Hadji held the mid lane and kept his KDA clean through the chaos. He finished the regular season with a 4.65 KDA, 2.67 kills per game, and 5.79 assists per game, which earned him the Season 8 Regular Season MVP award. Blacklist then won the championship, defeating ONIC PH 4-1 in the Grand Finals.
The M3 World Championship followed at the end of 2021. Hadji posted the highest average KDA in the entire tournament at 6.58, a number that speaks for itself on the international stage. Blacklist brought that trophy back to the Philippines.
Season 10 in 2022 added a second MPL PH title to his resume.
The M4 World Championship in 2023 ended with a runner-up finish. A painful result, but the run underlined that Hadji could consistently perform at the highest international level.
After Blacklist entered a transitional period, Hadji moved through different organizations. He was part of the Twisted Minds PH roster in Season 15. Season 16 brought him back to Smart Omega on a squad featuring Raizen and Netskie, but Smart Omega finished 5-9 in the regular season and missed the playoffs.
#Why He Is Trending: The Team Falcons Move
Team Falcons made headlines in the MPL PH S17 preseason by completing a swap that surprised most of the community. Pheww, one of the most celebrated midlaners in Philippine MLBB history and a two-time world champion, exited the roster. Hadji walked in.
The Team Falcons S17 lineup now reads:
- Flap (EXP Lane)
- Hadji (Mid Lane)
- Owgwen (Roamer)
- SuperMarco (Gold Lane)
- Kyle (Jungler)
- Ferdz (Sub-EXP Lane)
- Coach Ducky (Head Coach)
Kyle is a jungler with serious upside. SuperMarco as the gold lane carry gives Hadji a reliable late-game damage partner. Owgwen in the roamer slot means the map movement support is already built in. This roster has the pieces to go deep in playoffs.
For Hadji specifically, the question the community keeps raising is legitimate: he underperformed at Smart Omega last season. But context matters. Smart Omega's roster in Season 16 was still finding its shape after a full rebuild, and Hadji was never operating inside a system built around his strengths. Team Falcons gives him a cleaner framework.
He joins a new home for a core that previously competed as AP.Bren, a group with championship DNA. The reunion with proper infrastructure is why analysts are giving Team Falcons real playoff credibility heading into S17.
#What to Expect in MPL PH S17
MPL PH Season 17 kicks off March 20, 2026, and Hadji's positioning at the top-tier tier of midlaners in the league is not in question. The resume is real. The hero pool is wide enough to fit any meta.
What is actually being tested is whether Hadji inside this specific Team Falcons system can hit his ceiling again. His peak, the Season 8 and M3 run, came when he was part of a unit that moved as one entity. Smart Omega did not give him that. Team Falcons, on paper, might.
The mid lane in MPL PH S17 is one of the deepest it has been in recent memory. Oheb recently profiled here at mlbbhub.com and players like Pheww are still in the mix across other squads. Hadji will have to earn every point.
Based on his track record, the safe assumption is that he shows up.
#Hadji Career Achievements at a Glance
| Season / Tournament | Result | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MPL PH Season 8 (2021) | Champion + Regular Season MVP | Blacklist International |
| M3 World Championship (2021) | Champion (Highest KDA: 6.58) | Blacklist International |
| MPL PH Season 10 (2022) | Champion | Blacklist International |
| M4 World Championship (2023) | Runner-Up | Blacklist International |
| MPL PH Season 12 (2023) | Runner-Up | Blacklist International |
| MPL PH Season 15 (2025) | Regular Season | Twisted Minds PH |
| MPL PH Season 16 (2025) | Regular Season (5-9) | Smart Omega |
| MPL PH Season 17 (2026) | TBD | Team Falcons PH |
Two world-level trophies. Two domestic championships. A Regular Season MVP. Those are credentials few active players in MPL PH can match.
The move to Team Falcons is the reset he needed. If the system clicks, and the early signs from the roster construction suggest it should, Hadji will remind everyone exactly why his name keeps coming up every single preseason.