The Gaming Crime 'Everyone' Admits To

Summary

The video traces the origins of smurfing—using a new or alternate account to conceal a player’s real skill—and explores why it remains controversial.

Origins

In the early days of online Warcraft II, players had to find opponents through lobby lists rather than automatic matchmaking. Skilled players Jeff “Schlongor” Frazier and Greg “Warp” Boyko found that people avoided their lobbies, so they used the names Papa Smurf and Smurfette to disguise themselves and get matches. Other players soon copied the trick.

Why It Became a Bigger Problem

As ranked matchmaking spread, including with Halo 2, players could be matched against skilled opponents they might never have chosen to face. Losing to someone far above your level could feel unfair, especially when rankings were at stake.

Alternate Accounts Aren’t Always Smurf Accounts

Alternate accounts can have legitimate uses, such as practicing unfamiliar characters, avoiding harassment, or pursuing another high rank. But they can also be used for boosting, account sharing, griefing, or seeking easier wins.

What the Data Says

Riot reported that secondary accounts reached as much as 12% of VALORANT’s daily active accounts and 9% of League of Legends accounts. In Riot’s 2022 VALORANT analysis, a “stomp” meant winning by more than eight rounds. Before its anti-smurf work, detected smurfs had a stomp rate of 32%. When Riot quickly adjusted some smurfs’ ratings, their stomp rate came within 1% of Riot’s target; smurfs in the control group still stomped about a quarter of their games.

How Developers Respond

The video cites Valve’s 2023 Dota 2 ban wave, which removed 90,000 smurf accounts and linked them to main accounts. Counter-Strike uses a $15 fee for access to certain matchmaking pools as a deterrent. Riot has also used detection and bans, reporting 296,000 League and VALORANT accounts banned for rank manipulation in September 2026.

Players’ Views Are Mixed

An Ohio State University study found that 69% of surveyed gamers said they smurf at least sometimes, while 94% believed others did. Participants judged smurfing differently depending on the circumstances: playing with a less experienced friend was viewed as less blameworthy than deliberately seeking easy wins. The researchers found that both competitive gamers and non-gamers often saw blame as context-dependent.

Takeaway

Smurfing can spoil matches for opponents regardless of the smurfer’s reason. Players may agree it is undesirable in principle while still making exceptions for their own circumstances. Developers can reduce its impact, but the video concludes there is no reliable way to eliminate it entirely.

Gamers and Sources Featured

• Gamers: Jeff “Schlongor” Frazier; Greg “Warp” Boyko; the aliases Papa Smurf and Smurfette; the elite player using Spider-Man as an alias; and an unnamed professional Overwatch player discussed by Jeff Kaplan.
• Sources and organizations: Frazier’s 1996 blog; Urban Dictionary’s 2004 definition; Riot Games and anti-cheat head Phillip Koskinas; Riot’s 2022 VALORANT report; Jeff Kaplan’s 2017 Overwatch forum post; Valve’s Dota 2 and Counter-Strike measures; and Ohio State University’s 2024 studies.