Top 20 Players of Vanguard : #5 Simp
The #5 player of the Vanguard season is the reigning #1 of the year, Chris “Simp” Lehr. Simp was crucial to helping the FaZe side make it to four grand finals in 2022!
Simp has been the #1 ranked player in the past three seasons, winning that award in Black Ops 4, Modern Warfare, and Cold War. While he won’t make it a four-peat, Simp still had a terrific season. The star SMG continued his reign of havoc on the CDL, helping the Atlanta side finish with a 114-83 map count and 28-13 series count. The two time World Champion will look to improve on that in Modern Warfare II!
Season Review
Simp had another strong year in the CDL but sadly lacked the usual Tournament victories. Despite a seemingly poor year he still maintained a positive KD Ratio in all 3 game modes and strong slaying numbers. Contrasting to his long term duo aBeZy, Simp concluded the year on a poor note. That should not undo another strong season both individually and team wise.
Atlanta FaZe were the most consistent team for the Vanguard season but just could not manage to get that Championship Victory. Starting the season off as the clear favorites they fell short in the Grand Finals. They would fall to OpTic Texas and then Los Angeles Guerrillas at Major 1 and 2, respectively. They were dropped by a iLLeY-less OpTic Texas at the Pro-Am to fall out in the Quarter Finals in a very disappointing manner. Another 2nd place faced them at Major 3 this time to the Seattle Surge before a 3rd place finish at Major 4.
Atlanta FaZe wouldn’t let their disappointing season hold them down at Champs! They clutched up in Game 5s against the New York Subliners and Seattle Surge to move to the Winners Finals. Atlanta were dominated by LA Thieves before reaching the teams 3rd straight CDL Champs Grand Final by defeating Seattle Surge in the Losers Finals in a 3-1 fashion. They fell once again to the Los Angeles Thieves 5-2 in the Grand Finals and concluded the season with a 4th 2nd place finish.
How good was Simp in 2022?
Hardpoint
Simp has historically been very proficient at each of the three CDL game modes, and this continued in 2022. While he didn’t have the flashy statistics of the past, they were still exceptional for the SMG role this season. Overall, he finished with a 1.00 KD in the mode, with 24.5 kills per 10 minutes, 68.3 seconds of hill time per 10 minutes, and 65.7% non-traded kill percentage. Simp was at his best to start the season, finishing Stage 1 with a 1.06 KD in Hardpoint. He added on 24.4 Kp10M, 2933.5 DMGp10M, and 68.4% NTK%.
Simp played well on all four maps in the pool, but surprisingly was at his best with the 3rd AR in his hands on Gavutu Hardpoint. On the map, he had a 1.03 KD with 3036.2 damage per 10 minutes, 58.5% TES Rating, and 70.6% non-traded kill percentage. This showcased how talented he is with both the SMG or AR equipped.
Search & Destroy
Coming up as an SnD Star, Simp has always be dominant in the mode. This season was no different, as he played well all season. One major difference to years in the past, is that Simp used the sniper significantly less. In years past he was feared with the boom stick, but this season saw more aggressive SMG and AR play. Overall, he finished with a 1.08 KD in the mode with 0.74 kills per round. Simp added 98.31 ADR, 12 total clutches, and 67.6% non-traded kill percentage as well.
Simp played at his season during Stage 1 to start off the year. During the stage, he had a 1.21 KD in the mode with 0.75 kills per round, 97.63 ADR, 51.9 opening duel win percentage. His best map in the pool was BoCage. On the map, he had a 1.24 KD with 0.86 kills per round, 105.96 ADR, and 68.5% non-traded kill percentage.
Control
Control is the last game mode to breakdown. Simp played very consistent in the mode, finishing the year with a 1.06 KD. He added 18.8 kills per 10 minutes and 0.93 captures per attacking round. Chris was at his best during Stage 3 of the season. There he had a 1.11 KD with 19.4 kills per 10 minutes and a season high 2499.0 damage per 10 minutes. While he didn’t have the same surreal Control numbers as he did in Cold War, this was still a very great season for the star SMG.
A look ahead to Modern Warfare II
Simp & Atlanta FaZe will look a bit different heading into the next season. They will be making a change for the first time in two years, acquiring Austin “SlasheR” Liddicoat from the LA Guerrillas. SlasheR will be filling the Main AR position for the squad as Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson moved onto the LA Guerrillas starting roster. With the addition of Slasher, FaZe will be looking to overcome their lack of results in Grand Finals last season. The departure of Arcitys will be tough to fill, but SlasheR is one of the best players to do just that. Expect Atlanta FaZe to continuously fight for championships all of 2023!
