A growing trend among well-known League of Legends content creators has caught the attention of the gaming community. Many famous streamers have been routinely using “smurf” accounts—alternate, lower-ranked profiles—to play against less skilled opponents while criticizing their teammates for their gameplay.
Streamers like Zwag, Ioki, TF Blade, PantsAreDragon, and SoloRenektonOnly are often seen smurfing for their content. This move involves either creating new accounts or buying pre-leveled ones so they can play in Bronze, Silver, and Gold matches even though they’re really Diamond, Master, or even Challenger level.
The main reason behind it seems to be making content. High-ELO matches have long waits and are full of equally skilled players, so big plays and highlight reels don’t happen as much. In low-ELO games, it’s a lot easier for streamers to pull off flashy plays, try silly off-meta builds, and make “educational” content that racks up the views.
What has drawn particular criticism is the way these streamers behave. Many intentionally hop into low-ranked games, then get mad, mock, or even verbally abuse teammates who are just playing at the level you’d expect for that rank. Some even tell their viewers who join these games to follow certain rules just to make sure the streamer gets good clips.
This whole thing is messing with the game for everyone else. New and low-ranked players keep running into smurfs, which makes for a seriously unbalanced experience and can make some people want to stop playing. Even though Riot Games has said they’re working on stopping smurfing from time to time, it’s tough to enforce since making new accounts is so easy.
Some creators even have whole series built around smurfing, like the “Unranked to Challenger” runs, or videos boasting titles like “MOST BROKEN BUILD EVER?!?” where the main draw is watching one-sided matches against much weaker opponents. These videos are sold as educational, but mostly show a stomp.
The smurf struggle is real
Not all streamers are doing this. Some content creators actually make a name for themselves by keeping a positive vibe no matter what their teammates do, or by playing at their actual rank—even though it makes getting good footage tougher.
Riot Games has rolled out things like faster rank changes for accounts playing way above their rank, but the demand for fresh content, long waits for high-level games, and the ease of making new accounts mean smurfing isn’t going anywhere for now, especially with YouTubers and streamers churning out daily content.
