Valorant has fewer smurfs in 2023 than last year, stats say

Fariha Bhatti Published 22/12/2022

Valorant developer has good news for dedicated ranked players who are sick and tired of smurfs polluting the lobbies in 2023. 

Valorant initially had rank restriction, which led many high-skilled players to create smurf accounts to be able to play with friends. Eventually, ranked demons started finding it easier to climb ranks, leading to their multiple smurf accounts to reach Radiant. These, and many other reasons, led to a severe smurf problem in Valorant, which Riot has actively been tackling. 

At the end of 2022, Riot has excellent news for serious players. Valorant no longer has as many smurfs, and the developer is working on extending the smurf detection program to tackle the remaining bad actors. 

Does Valorant have fewer smurfs in 2023? 

According to Riot’s stats, Valorant will have 17% fewer smurfs in 2023 compared to early 2022. 

In 2022, Riot honed its smurf detection system to recognize skilled players and boost them to deserved ranks faster. As a result, newly created smurfs are getting to their “correct” MMR two to three times faster than before. The improvement could also be attributed to five stacks and the introduction of a new Ascendant badge that has made the grind a bit trickier. Stubborn players are still doing rank-up challenges, but many find it difficult to boost ranks on multiple accounts in 2022. 

The good news is that Riot is working on even more improvements for 2023. 

“The team is looking into ways of making sure no smurfs slip through the cracks by bolstering the ways we identify smurfs during matches, and by experimenting with the amount of MMR we adjust to detected smurfs (putting them at the same MMR as their main account even faster),” Riot said. 

So, players should remain hopeful and have faith in Riot to bolster the existing smurf detection system to perfection. While it’s impossible to rid the game of smurfs completely, Valorant’s serious smurf problem could be resolved in the next few months if Riot keeps this up! 

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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