Valorant smurfs are seemingly everywhere in Riot’s FPS game. No matter whether you’re playing solo queue or ranked, high level players who have created low level accounts always pop up in games and, in most cases, hand you a decent thrashing and some toxicity in the text chat.
The all-new Premier mode seeks to be even more competitive than the current ranked system, allowing those at the top of the table a shot at glory. If they’re really lucky, it may even provide an entry into Valorant’s ever-expanding esports ecosystem, helping top teams seek out the hottest new talent.
Given how competitive this mode will be, some players have expressed concerns over smurfs and how to combat them – especially because players go head to head in full five-man stacks.
“Hopefully they do something about smurfing,” writes one concerned fan on the Valorant Reddit. “My friends and I are big Clash players in League of Legends, and it has a horrible smurfing problem. We’ve played in every Clash weekend except for maybe three or four since it launched. And we play against high level smurfs that are brand new accounts every two or three games.”
This prompted a response from senior competitive designer Jon ‘EvrMoar’ Walker, who writes “we are definitely aware of smurfs, the perception of smurfs, and have plans/new ways to tackle smurfs in Premier.
“It’s too early to answer, and some things we won’t say just to protect how it works, but we are aware of the community’s concern and you’ll hear more as the system hits future release checkpoints.”
Riot has confirmed that there’s a whole lot of information still hidden behind the curtain when it comes to Premier, so its likely these new security systems are part of that treasure trove of information.
In League of Legends you need to undergo phone verification in order to take part in Clash, but if you’re really dedicated to causing chaos, this is relatively easy to bypass. A similar system could work for Premier, but is obviously subject to the same pitfalls. I’m not a game developer, so I’m not about to offer any suggestions, but I am certainly intrigued to see what EvrMoar and the devs have cooked up.
If you’re looking to battle it out with the cream of the crop in Premier, make sure you’ve taken a look at our rundown of the best Valorant crosshairs and codes. Additionally, we’ve also dissected the current Valorant ranks if you’re unfamiliar with all things competitive.