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What is a Smurf Account and Its Impact on Gaming

What is a smurf account? The term 'smurf' is often used in games that are aimed at pro players but play with new accounts.
What is a Smurf Account
DOTA 2. Source: Steam

What is a Smurf Account and Its Impact on Gaming

Smurf account is a term that is often used by players with new accounts but have gameplay like a pro or veteran. 

Typically, gamers create Smurf accounts to be able to play casually and get away from competitive games.

If you want to know more about what a Smurf account is, let's take a look at the following discussion!

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What is a Smurf Account?

What is a Smurf Account
Frank Woods. Source: steamcommunity.com

The term 'smurf' is often used in gaming to describe players. online game who create new accounts to play against lower ranked players.

However, the term Smurf can also be used as a general term to describe players who use alternate accounts or multiple accounts.

The reason it's called smurfing is because there were two very good players in a game called Warcraft II. 

These players would simply avoid playing on their original accounts, and they created new accounts to get around this, choosing “PapaSmurf” and “Smurfette” and the terms have stuck ever since.

Why is Smurfing Looked Down on in Gaming?

CS2 Maps
Counter Strike 2. Source: Steam

Smurfing is looked down upon, and sometimes hated, due to its overall negative impact on almost all games. 

When playing Smurfing, high level players usually face off against new or lower level players. 

This means that matches are lopsided and creates a negative experience for players facing the Smurf, as they are up against someone who is way out of their league and has no chance of winning.

Facing Smurfs can leave players frustrated, angry, or even hopeless as lower level players gain nothing, but instead lose time and potentially lose rank points.

This all also applies to competitive gaming platforms, but at a higher level. 

Smurfing is common on some platforms, especially those where real money is wagered. 

These are usually divided into leagues, ranked based on player skill, and due to the difficulty of stopping Smurfs, platforms may see rewards awarded to Smurf accounts, rather than worthy players who fight at the correct level.

If this is the case, it could discourage players from playing the game, as fair competition is key to a fun and competitive environment. 

Games filled with Smurfs will generally lose users over time, as players will seek out places with fair competition, so stopping Smurfing is essential.

In What Types of Games Does Smurfing Have the Biggest Impact?

light pc online games (6)
Leagues of Legends. Source: Epic Games

The most detrimental smurfing is in competitive games and esports titles. This includes all the big games like Counter-Strike, League of Legends, Dota 2, Call of Duty, and many others.

In these and other games, Smurfing occurs both in in-game match systems, which aim to pair players of similar skill, and competitive platforms. 

This also happens frequently in tournaments. esports amateur, where small amounts of money are at stake and the events are run on very small budgets, or even by volunteers, which means it is difficult to implement anti-Smurfing procedures.

Smurfing has had the biggest impact on these games due to its competitive nature, as well as the world of esports.

Players play to earn ranking points and sometimes cash prizes, so losing to a Smurf has a huge negative impact, as there is little a player can do against a Smurf.

Meanwhile, Smurfing allows players to easily earn points or win cash prizes.

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So, that's our discussion this time about what a Smurf account is and its negative impact on the game.

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