Smurfing in gaming refers to the practice of experienced players creating new accounts to compete in lower skill levels or ranks in competitive online games. This allows players to manipulate the skill-based matchmaking system, which leads to unfair gameplay for opponents who are of lower skill levels. Smurfing is most common in competitive games and esports titles, where players play for ranking points and sometimes cash prizes. Smurfing is looked down upon and sometimes outright hated due to its overall negative impact on just about any game.

Some gamers argue that smurfing allows them to play with friends who are just starting out in a game without completely destroying the competition. However, smurfing can have an impact on gamer psychology, making players feel frustrated and demotivated, as they may feel like they can’t compete with players who are using smurf accounts. It can also lead to feelings of anger and hostility towards other players, which can negatively impact the gaming experience for everyone involved.

Smurfing is a significant problem in multiplayer games, and developers have taken extensive measures to punish players who smurf or prevent them from smurfing altogether. For example, in VALORANT, players must win 10 unranked matches before they can play the ranked mode on an account, which prevents players from making a fresh account and immediately jumping into ranked modes and dominating lower-ranked players. Despite these safeguards, smurfing is still an annoying issue in gaming, and the best thing to do against a smurf is to report them and hope for the best.