Fadil “Kecik Imba” Bin Mohd Raziff started to go to LAN cafes when he was 10 years old to watch and learn Dota. Since then, he has joined the ranks of some of the best players in Malaysia and in the world. Kecik Imba’s TI5 player profile gives clues on what his success has been attributed to.
Kecik Imba made his first appearance in the professional Dota 2 scene when he joined team Orange, on February 14, 2013.
He became the 6th player on the roster, as part of Orange’s “player development program”. He participated in several major championships, but, for the most part he was kept on the bench instead of playing. As the team’s sixth player, he was not selected to compete in The International 3.
After TI3, Kecik Imba was left teamless, when Titan picked up most of Orange’s roster.
Fadil joined Invasion Esports for one year and managed to get only two second place finishes in minor tournaments under his belt to show for it.
In march 2015, he was given his big break when Mushi invited him to rejoin most of his former Orange teammates on EHOME.my – EHOME’s Malaysian division, which has later gone independent under the name of “Team Malaysia”, before being picked up by Fnatic.
The team has reached top placements in major tournaments and was invited to attend The International 5, as representatives for the Southeast Asian region.
The Malaysian team’s success didn’t go unnoticed.
Malaysia’s government started to recognize esports and formed a dedicated body – Esports Malaysia – with the purpose to try and grow the local esports scene and give support to an industry with a lot of potential for improving the economy and youth development.
Fadil “Kecik Imba” Bin Mohd Raziff
When you first lay eyes on Fadil, one of the first things you notice is his stature. Don’t let his small frame and size fool you, his plays pack a powerful punch and his name is there to remind everyone and prove it.
Kecik means “small” in Malay and “imba” is an abbreviated jargon that means “imbalanced” or “overpowering”.
Although his play-style can be pretty aggressive and intimidating, his teammates are quick to reveal that Kecik Imba is very easy to get close with – a simple guy who is easy to talk to about a variety of topics. It is overwhelmingly clear that Fadil has a special place in Fnatic.
Kecik Imba is considered lucky by many. There are a lot of players in Malaysia who don’t get any chance to prove themselves or compete in a professional manner. But Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung saw a lot of potential in Fadil and invited him to join his squad.
Kecik Imba, surrounded by his Fnatic teammates
Whenever people talk about Kecik, they think of him like ‘oh, he’s Mushi’s student you know, he’s Mushi’s student’.
Kecik Imba gives credit to Mushi for his development and status, citing his Malaysian mentor as what makes him “a very professional gamer”. Kecik Imba has undoubtedly developed under Mushi’s tutelage, and the two players have a close relationship. They have even swapped mid and support roles between themselves and Mushi regards him as his little brother and bears high esteem for Fadil.
I think he has a lot of potential in his future. He can be better than anyone in Malaysia, even better than me
Watch Fadil “Kecik Imba” Bin Mohd Raziff’s player profile:
Read an in-depth profile feature about Fnatic’s Malaysian squad: Fnatic brings back a taste of Orange Esports at TI5
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