One of the things that sometimes makes League of Legends quite a frustrating experience for players is the matchmaking system. Specifically, if you’ve been playing LoL for a long time, you may have experienced waiting for over an hour to find a match or being matched with players who are either ruining the game or are smurf ranks, while the opposing team plays at a very high level.
Recently, on Reddit, a player expressed their frustration after being placed in a waiting queue filled with smurf rank players. The reason? This player had an excessively high win rate.
According to the player: “I have been a Silver rank player since I started playing LoL. I find watching games more exciting than playing, so I don’t play much, just a few ranked matches a year. This season, my win rate has been hovering around 65-70%, and since I play so few games, my win rate looks quite good. But that’s also why I get placed in queues full of smurfs. Am I a smurf? No. Am I good at the game? Definitely not. I just got lucky with a good team and I mute everyone when I enter a game to focus on playing.
Right now, I really don’t know the reason for the smurf queue, but being placed in such a lobby has led to a lot of insults directed at me. I feel like TheBausffs (the Sion Assassin) of low rank. I have to do everything myself while being constantly blamed by teammates for the opposing team having smurfs while they have… me. “Why are you playing Support Lux?” Well, because at Silver rank, that’s a perfect choice.
I completely oppose the idea that smurf queues should be for actual smurf players or just get rid of it altogether. I think the system should be able to detect smurfs better than it currently does. It’s frustrating to be penalized for playing at the level of your rank, and that ends up being the reason your entire team loses the game. Especially when you’ve tried your best but are completely outclassed.”
It’s clear that Riot’s matchmaking system is facing many issues as it has yet to effectively address the smurf rank problem, leaving regular players to face smurf groups far too often. These players not only affect the gaming experience of others but also have a negative impact on the ranked streaks of players. This sentiment has also been echoed by other gamers.
Ranked mode is one of the most prominent and appealing features of any game. In upcoming updates, Riot has also announced that it will thoroughly address the smurf issue, and players have no choice but to hope that the “parent company” of LoL will continue to improve its beloved game in a way that provides the best experiences for the gaming community.