Top 20 Players of Cold War: #9 Standy
The #9 player of the Cold War season, brought to you by Elgato, is the star rookie SMG Eli “Standy” Bentz. The rookie came into the team at the start of Stage 2 and completely transformed the roster.
Standy has been a top prospect in the Challengers scene since the start of the Modern Warfare season. He broke into the scene with Aspire but really hit his stride on Triumph. With teammates Nagafen, Royalty, FeLo, and Davpadie, they would win multiple Challenger Opens and end the Modern Warfare season winning the Challenger Finals. Standy would start the Cold War season with Triumph again, this time with not as much success. The team started slow but began to pick up the placings in February 2021. This was right as Minnesota began to struggle and was looking for an SMG to pick up. This allowed Standy to take MajorManiak’s spot on the starting roster and he wouldn’t look back!
Season Review
Standy quickly developed into the star SMG within the Minnesota Rokkr. When he was initially put in, many knew he was a terrific prospect but didn’t know what to expect. They quickly took down OpTic Chicago and Dallas Empire in his first stage and he looked amazing! He would only grow from there as he learned and developed in the roster. He was surrounded by veterans, which helped him improve his teamwork and unlock his true potential. Overall, he’d finished the season with positive KDs in all three modes and elite damage output. Standy also shined brightest at the Stage 5 Final on LAN when he helped the team win 5 straight maps when in a 0-4 deficit. Here is his season review!
Stage 2
Going into Stage 2, Minnesota made the decision to bench Michael “MajorManiak” Szymaniak and bring in the young Standy. They identified that the SMG position was the weak point in the roster and that Preston “Priestahh” Greiner would do better in the flex position. With Standy in the roster, they would take down Dallas, Chicago, & Seattle to finish 3-2 and lock in an Upper Bracket start at the Major. In the end, they weren’t able to continue that momentum at the Major, dropping to Dallas and Toronto. They would still take down Chicago 3-2, so there was still a lot to build off of going into Stage 3.
Standy was welcomed to the League by some of the best teams in the CDL. They played Dallas and Chicago twice in Stage 5, with Toronto as well during the Major. Even with that tough competition, he’d finished with positive KDs across all three modes. He was terrific in SnD, finishing with a 1.25 KD with 0.82 kills per round and 15 opening duels won. It was a great opening stage out of Standy, as he’d look to grow and improve in Stage 3.
Stage 3
After finding success with minimum practice with Standy, Stage 3 would be a test of how much they improved with practice time. It would be a slower start for the Rokkr, falling to Toronto, Dallas, and Florida. Finishing with a 2-3 record, they would have to start in the Lower Bracket. It would be a very quick Major appearance for Minnesota. With a 0-3 loss to London in the opening match, they would be eliminated in 9th/10th. Overall, it was a very disappointing stage out of the Rokkr.
Standy found improvement in the two respawn modes in Stage 3, but did regress a bit in SnD. Control was his best mode during the stage. Eli had a 1.23 KD in the mode and did a great job of limiting his deaths. He finished with 17.89 deaths per 10 minutes and 3889 damage per 10 minutes in the game mode. Standy was elusive and made teams communicate effectively so they would not lose him on the map.
Stage 4
With two stages under his belt in the CDL, would Standy help Minnesota find better form? That question would be answered with strong performances in the group stage. The team made the decision to bench Lamar “Accuracy” Abedi for MajorManiak, and that seemed to rejuvenate the squad. They’d finish 3-2 and lock in an Upper Bracket start at Major 4. They would start the Major off great, sweeping New York 3-0. Sadly, it would go south quickly. They would fall 3-0 to Atlanta and then 3-1 to Chicago in the Lower Bracket. The 5th/6th placement would be okay for the Rokkr but they’d look for better results.
Standy continued his consistent form in Stage 4, playing great in both Hardpoint and SnD. In SnD he’d finish with a solid 1.14 KD with 0.85 kills per round. He was doing a great job of being effective in the mid-round and helping tilt the odds in the Rokkr’s favor. In Hardpoint, he finished with a season-high of 70.95 seconds of hill time per 10 minutes. He was playing around the objective more but still slaying at a high pace. If he could continue this form, Minnesota’s results were sure to improve.
Stage 5
After not making a very deep run during the first four stages, the pressure was on Minnesota to find a great result. While the Rokkr would lose to both Toronto and Dallas, they would beat the three remaining teams to finish 3-2. This locked up an Upper Bracket start and a match against the Atlanta FaZe. In shocking fashion, the Rokkr would begin the tournament with a 3-1 upset over Atlanta. The momentum wouldn’t stop there, with Minnesota beating the Empire 3-1 and the Ultra 3-0. Additionally, the victory over the Ultra booked them a spot in the Finals. In a rematch against Toronto in the Finals, the Rokkr would lose the first four maps and be down 0-4 in the series. The Rokkr miraculously regained and won five straight maps to reverse sweep Toronto. The 5-4 victory was one of the best series in esports history.
Stage 5 was the true breakthrough stage for Standy. He led all SMGs in kills per 10 minutes in Hardpoint (24.58), kills per round in SnD (0.91), and ADR in SnD (176). Eli ended the stage with a 1.35 KD in SnD and a 1.13 in Hardpoint. He ended with Player of the Stage, as he was a key component to Rokkr winning their first Major. Without Standy popping off in Hardpoint & SnD, Toronto very well could’ve won. It was his best stage of the season just in time to carry that over to the CDL Playoffs.
CDL Playoffs
With the Major win in Stage 5, Minnesota secured an Upper Bracket start at the CDL Playoffs. They would be matched against the improving Dallas Empire. Dallas had the edge in Hardpoint, but Minnesota was favored in the SnDs and Control. Both teams were also able to dodge the COVID-19 scares and go into the tournament at full strength. While they won in Stage 5, this was the tournament they really wanted to win.
Minnesota Rokkr vs Dallas Empire
The first matchup for Minnesota would be a difficult one. Dallas had steadily improved since Stage 3 and was a dark horse to win the tournament. On the surface level, the SMG matchup was very interesting to watch. Standy against Shotzzy would be a great SMG battle. The match would quickly turn in Dallas’ favor. After winning the map 1 Moscow Hardpoint, Dallas wouldn’t slow down. They would win 3-0 to advance to the next stage, while Minnesota would fall to the Lower Bracket.
Minnesota Rokkr vs LA Thieves
After dropping to Dallas to begin the tournament, Minnesota would have to play again on Day 1 versus LA Thieves. Minnesota arguably had an advantage since they were able to warm up in a match earlier, but was coming in on a loss. The Thieves would take the map 1 Hardpoint, but the Rokkr fought back to win maps 2 and 3. The Map 4 Garrison Hardpoint would again go to LA Thieves, meaning we were heading into a map 5. Priestahh made sure the map 5 wasn’t close, finishing 13-5 in the 6-3 victory. With a 3-2 result, Minnesota moved on to the next round.
Minnesota Rokkr vs New York Subliners
The Rokkr wouldn’t know who they would face in the next round but knew it could be either Atlanta or New York. In the end, Atlanta won 3-0 over New York meaning the Subliners would fall into the Lower Bracket to go against Minnesota. This time around New York had a small advantage, being warmed up but also coming in on a loss. Minnesota started the series hot, taking map 1 with Standy going 27-15 (1.80 KD) and 5042 damage. New York would take the SnD, but Minnesota would rebound to win the series 3-1. Standy played at his best, finishing the series 94-69 for a 1.36 KD and 90.71 slayer rating. He was a major component to taking the Subliners down.
Minnesota Rokkr vs Toronto Ultra
Next up was the Toronto Ultra for the Rokkr. After reverse sweeping them back in the Stage 5 Finals, Minnesota came into this series confident. The two teams traded maps, leading to the map 5 with the series tied 2-2. Both teams were very good in SnD and both had a great record on Moscow, which was map 5. Unfortunately, Toronto was just too strong on the map and won 6-4. Minnesota held their own, winning multiple flashy rounds but it just wasn’t enough. Sadly this would knock them out in 4th for the CDL Playoffs.
Overall
The Cold War season was a great rookie year for Standy. He came into a team that hadn’t found the best results and helped transform them into a championship team. Eli improved greatly from stage to stage and almost even won the rookie of the year award. Had Jamie “Insight” Craven not been so stout for the Toronto Ultra, Standy easily could’ve won the award. In the end, Standy won a Major championship and was Player of the Stage for Stage 5. It was a fantastic year, and he will certainly be a top SMG in Vanguard.
How good was Standy in 2021?
Hardpoint
Standy found a lot of individual success in Hardpoint during Cold War. He was a patient SMG that could flank or hit the front. Eli was unpredictable at times and that is why he was so hard to play against. He was fantastic against the top 3 teams in the League, having a 1.04 KD and 23.07 kills per 10 minutes against them. Standy was at his best on Apocalypse. He finished with a 1.31 KD on the map with 26.44 kills per 10 minutes and high damage. Standy was truly a force in Hardpoint.
In the end, Minnesota ended with a 26-32 record in Hardpoint with Standy in the lineup. While they started out strong, they were a bit weaker at the end of the season. The team had three maps at or above a 50% win percentage. Those include Apocalypse (3-2), Checkmate (8-8), and Raid (6-5). With a deeper map pool, they could’ve been a top team in the mode.
Search & Destory
Arguably his strongest mode in Cold War, Standy played very well in SnD. He had better statistics in Majors and at LAN compared to in the Group Stages and on Online. He was a force against the top teams, finishing with a 1.14 KD against the top 3 teams with 150 ADR and 0.81 kills per round. Standy loved a good Raid map pick. Eli had a 1.36 KD on Raid with 0.92 kills per round and a 59.6% opening duel win percentage. Look out for Standy in SnD on Vanguard.
Overall, Minnesota had a 24-20 record in SnD with the rookie in the lineup. They were regarded as one of the best Miami teams in the game (8-2) and could beat top teams on Standoff (4-2). The team had great playmakers on their team and were great in the clutch. With one or two more strong maps in their map pool, they’d be a top 3 team in the mode.
Control
The final mode we’ll look at is Control. It was Standy’s weakest of 2021, but a lot of the rookies did struggle in this mode. He still finished with a 1.03 KD overall but regressed a bit at Majors and on LAN. Eli was prolific on the attacking side, finishing with a 1.03 on Garrison and Raid when attacking. His best map was Garrison overall, having a 1.11 KD on the map and 19.36 kills per 10 minutes. With another year under his belt, he will surely improve in this mode.
Minnesota’s strongest mode with Standy was actually Control. They finished with a 21-13 record in the mode, including going 11-4 on Garrison and 10-7 on Raid. Their ARs were very patient and allowed their SMGs to open up the map. They were tough to beat by anyone and could always put up a good fight.
A look ahead to Vanguard
Looking ahead to Call of Duty Vanguard, Standy will continue starting on the Minnesota Rokkr. One of three teams not to make any roster changes in the offseason, the Rokkr have the early advantage in the chemistry department. Eli will be able to continue learning from the three veterans on the roster, and will now also have Daniel “Loony” Loza on the coaching staff to lean on. With more time to learn and practice, we should see another big leap in 2022 from Standy.
Stats Key
TES – True Engagement Success: (Kills+Assists)/(Kills+Assists+Deaths)
Slayer Rating –
Average Engagements: (Total Kills+Total Deaths+Total Assists)/Total Game Time(or Rounds for SnD)
Kp10M – Kills per 10 Minutes: (Total Kills/Total Game Time)*10
Dp10M – Deaths per 10 Minutes: (Total Deaths/Total Game Time)*10
DMGp10M – Damage per 10 Minutes: (Total Damage/Total Game Time)*10
HTp10M – Hill Time per 10 Minutes: (Total Hill Time/Total Game Time)*10
Sp10M – Score per 10 Minutes: (Total Score/Total Game Time)*10
ADR – Average Damage per Round: (Total Damage/Total Rounds Played)
OpDuel Won or Lost – First Blood or First Blooded
OpDuel W% – Opening Duel Win Percentage: (Total OpDuels Won)/(Total OpDuels Won+Total OpDuels Lost)
KpR, DpR – Kills per Round & Deaths per Round
K% – The % of rounds the player had at least 1 kill
MK% – The % of rounds the player had at least 2 kills
0K% – The % of rounds the player had 0 kills
Stats versus the top 3 teams in the league are the summed stats vs Atlanta, Dallas, & Toronto. If the player is on one of those teams, the stat is summed from the remaining two teams on the list.
