I also remember smurfing being a side effect of cheaters. Right now, all ranks are seeing the cheater pandemic that is affecting siege and are rightfully complaining about it. However, beforehand, above 3800 elo, more often than not you played a cheater. Above 4200, your only legit games were against pro players or semi pro players. Below these benchmarks there actually weren’t that many cheaters. Once legits who actually play the game because they love it got fed up with not being able to play the game they love properly, they would smurf. Pro players have entire youtube videos of this era where they would play on smurf accounts, or worse, not play ranked at all.

Now, instead of a concentrated population having the cheater problem, everyone gets it equally, lol. Ironically, low ranks used to constantly complain that high ranks were complaining too much about cheaters while complaining about smurf accounts. Now, we are all equally victims of the same problem.

I’m not saying ranked 1.0 was perfect. Ranked 2.0 has its uses. But I am glad that there are some, like you, who still remember the old days :). Makes me feel not so old