Chris “Simp” Lehr has achieved more in his rookie year than many Call of Duty pros have in their entire career. Here is how the 18 year old phenom rose to stardom in such a short space of time:
Black Ops 3: The rising star
Simp’s following began to escalate during the Black Ops 3 title. Viewers tuned in to his stream to witness the innovative and flashy plays that became a common occurrence in his gameplay. He took part in various online tournaments and local LANs, often dominating the opposition and winning over 10 local LANs before turning pro in 2019.
The Search and Destroy (S&D) scene thrived with various young talents becoming known for their S&D prowess. Simp quickly became known for his ability in the S&D game mode and soon caught the attention of many competitive Call of Duty professionals. His raw talent was evident, however, Simp would be unable to compete at a major event until 2019 due to age restrictions.
The path to professional
For the next three years, Simp continued to showcase his talent and grow his fanbase. Having been a part of eUnited’s academy team (eUnited Cadets) since Novemeber 2017, Simp finally made it onto the eUnited pro roster as a substitute in March 2019. However, he competed under FaZe Clan Black at the CWL Fort Worth Open in March where he earned 1st place alongside teammates: Asim, Phantomz, GRVTY and Cellium.
Soon after, eUnited’s pro roster announced Simp as a replacement of two-time world champion, JKap. Simp had big boots to fill and a huge responsibility to kick-off his rookie year as a professional. The first tournament in Simp’s pro career, CWL London, came two months after the announcement. The squad placed 2nd at the event, falling to a strong 100 Thieves roster.
Despite falling short in the grand final, Simp’s debut performance lit up the London crowd. He finished the tournament with the highest S&D K/D ratio (1.82) and the second highest overall K/D ratio (1.35). CWL London was just a taster of Simp’s potential as he continued to shine throughout the year.
CWL Anaheim resulted in a disappointing 5-6th place finish for eUnited, however they soon bounced back as Simp won his first major at CWL Finals in Miami. If that wasn’t enough already, Simp took home MVP with a 1.18 overall K/D over 17 maps.
The Call of Duty World League Championship soon arrived and eUnited were hot favourites heading into the tournament. Without dropping a series, eUnited won the event in convincing fashion as Simp once again was awarded with the MVP trophy. Widely regarded as the best player in Black Ops 4, Simp had one of the most dominant rookie years seen in esports history.
Rostermania is now underway and franchises are looking to sign players for the 2020 season. With eUnited unsure of their future, Simp will undoubtedly be snapped up by a franchise in the near future. It will be interesting to see if the young gun can continue his impressive form next year on Modern Warfare.
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Featured image by: Astro Gaming
