What is smurfing?

General Discussion
1

Hi,

I’m making this for people to discuss what is considered smurfing in sc2.

Here are the main ways it’s used:

  1. Classic definition (origin – Warcraft II, 1990s):
    Experienced players created new accounts with silly names (like “PapaSmurf”) to hide their identity and stomp beginners.

  2. Modern competitive games definition:
    A high-skill player uses a fresh or alternate account so matchmaking places them against lower-skill players.

  3. Broad sense:
    Any deliberate action that causes matchmaking to underestimate your skill (e.g., throwing games to lower rank, resetting accounts, or avoiding ranked play until you’re overprepared).

I personally believe it is any deliberate action which results in your skill being underrepresented in matchmaking. I’m not saying smurfing is bad or good, but feel free to discuss what you believe smurfing is.

In terms of sc2 I classify the following as smurfing:

  1. Challenges on ladder that start out on a new account/ lower ranked
  2. Leaving mirror matches
  3. Creating a new account
  4. Leaving matches with the intent of de-ranking

Stuff I don’t really consider smurfing:

  1. Leaving league
  2. Off racing
  3. Having multiple accounts

I know point 3 overlaps with creating a new account. My opinion is just when you start out on a new account, you are smurfing, once you are closer to your actual mmr, you are no longer smurfing.

2

Thank you Chat-GPT.

Who cares if people smurf? They’re wasting their own time, playing noobs. Big deal you lost, if you can’t take it as a lesson, competitive games aren’t for you.

1 Like
3

I didn’t want to make this forum. People keep talking about what is smurfing in other forums.

Just for a place for them to discuss.

Thanks for sharing your opinion on smurfing.

1 Like
4

if your gonna throw mirror match ups in that as smurfing, you need to say just being racist, cause if some one chooses to never play protoss cause protoss op or any other race, that it is the same thing as if some one didnt want to play a mirror match up. so just say being a racist. Same thing with people leaving games cause they think there playing a smurf, if your choosing to put that one on there then leaving a game cause you dont want to play a person you think is a smurf would be the same thing as well. lets also not forget to include in that list leaving a game cause you gotta use the bathroom, cause your still purposely leaving games.

5

Smurfing is just lowering your MMR or ranking so you can beat players you shouldn’t be facing.

The details of how to smurf sometimes change game to game and mode to mode but ultimately the end result is always the same: a smurf is artificially screwing with match making to fight opponents who aren’t as skilled.

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6

You’re not purposely leaving the game if your game crashes.

Also leaving a small number of games won’t reduce your mmr enough to the point you are being matched up against weaker opponents.

You are right, avoiding a matchup is the same as avoiding mirror matches.
We can also see the impact of leaving a matchup. As it results in you having a 75% win rate in your other matchups. So matchmaking is putting you against more weaker opponents. (I’m not talking about one session you don’t want to play pvz, I mean religiously doing it)

What’s your opinion on players only playing a single matchup. I’ve played a Protoss who only plays pvz and leaves against T P and randoms. Is that smurfing?

Also, what do you consider smurfing?

7

I agree and we sometimes see this in other game’s policies.

Some games will ban you for:

  • leaving games
  • Having multiple accounts
  • Boosting

I know these aren’t banned for smurfing specificity, but they are related.

8

never said anything about game crashes.

In my opinion, no. not playing against one race specifically isnt smurfing, thats just your preference. It also wont get you any skill advantage either, just gonna make you have far less skill in the game and limit you. I also think if your too afraid to play against a certain race your a big old scardy cat, ( i would say something far worse in regards to that but i dont need banned again).

Plain and simple choosing to leave any match for any reason outside of real life problems, i.e. answering the door, need to take a phone call, ect, just makes you a piece of poo. LIke i said in the other post, i play teams mostly and only screw around on 1v1 when i get bored or when teams get flooded with noobs causing bad games. So for me when people leave a game and im stuck playing 2v3 it sucks period and its one of my biggest pet peaves, other than getting stuck with noobs who cant play, leaving me to a 30 min game of insane micro just to get us all a win, or god forbid busting my behind that long for a loss.

that being said no i dont condone people leaving any sort of match wether it be cause there playing a certain race, getting stream sniped, or smurfed or frankly needing to use the bathroom (cause that should of been done before hand). Do i call any of it smurfing, absolutely not. As dank said, you have to be purposely leaving games to lower your rank to smurf, that or just creating a new account to do the same. that is exactly what smurfing is.

9

What about sandbagging not for an advantage lets say I’m almost 40 (i am) i dont care about my own skill or mmr ( i dont) and while i know what are meta strategies are and can pull 300 apm i find it stressful and unfun thus i play 90% of my games at 60 apm doing whatever strategy i feel like IE i feel like massing pheonix this game so i will do that no matter what happens. Is this smurfing since im never really trying and at any point i could start trying hard and smoke most the people im in que against? I do things like choose not to scout all game since i dont feel like managing the unit across the map open with 4 hatches before a spawning pooling knowing i lose to scouting or any fast enough all in. Its not the i dont understand that scouting is good or that i cant physically move faster to make use of the information. The issue is doing that is stressful and not any fun it feels like a job. Reality is when you play this game for fun and dont try and win i think it often looks like your smurfing when the reality is you just want to play with 1 hand without trying as its less frustrating and more relaxing.

10

In my opinion (Brainy Smurf here :rofl:), having multiple accounts in a strategy game should result in temporary or permanent bans, or even a loss of progress.

It’s not normal or fair to allow multiple accounts!
For example, in games like: Travian, OGame, Clash of Clans, and Forge of Empires, multiple accounts are explicitly not allowed.

The reality in 2025 is that some games unofficially allow it, mainly because it increases revenue — more accounts mean more income.

So Smurfing should not be permitted. The only exception I see is for professional players, and only for specific reasons — such as training or staying anonymous — so not for bullying, gaining unfair advantages, climbing leaderboards, or earning multiple rewards.

13

For me, smurfing is intentionally manipulating one’s ranking/manipulating a ranking system in order to play against less skilled players for any reason. Key word: intentionally.

That’s not really policeable. Sure, policy can say it’s not allowed, but detecting/stopping it is a different story. There’s really nothing, short of sitting a Bliz official in every gamer’s computer room, that can 100% determine if one has multiple accounts.

2 Likes
14

I mean i tend to agree well other than the middle school reddit opener XD.

16

did what to myself your the one who looks like a child when you speak that way not me.

18

Again that’s the way little kids talk. shrug

19

Smurfs, Microsoft Blizz killed SC2 ! RIP