Since I started playing "competitive FPS" on CS:GO (back in 2015), smurfing is majoritarily seen as a normal thing. Now that I switched to Valorant it is even more frustrating, 3/5 of my first ranked games were against smurfs (Silver rank, 1 guy carrying the enemy team and destroying us), the 2 lasts were against normal Bronzes against I easily won as 1st (or 2nd).

7/10 of the next games were against smurfs or -25% boosting lobbies (mid Golds, low Plats, which is not really annoying compared to smurfing) and the last one was an unranked Reyna destryoing everyone (48 kills 6 deaths and they easily won, not even capping).

I remember that this smurfing flaw wasnt that big when I started CS, I started encountering them more often when I got GN4/MG1 but not on Silver elite/low GN...

I mean how can that be seen as "normal"? Competitives FPS are just like IRL sports, you can compare low ranks to junior teams, mid ones to district teams and high ones to regional teams. And pros to leagues/city clubs/country teams.

Just imagine a guy playing on a regional club, with a decent level replacing a teenager on a junior team and carrying its team to the win and get in higher hens without big effort, making the opposite one uncomfortable, tilted, not even having fun practicing the sport... Would 100% do the #1 at the local news, journalists personally attacking him, interviewed people aswell and he'll become the number 1 public enemy of his region, so ashamed that he'll stop playing soccer or whatever and wouldnt give any public news about him.

Thats pretty much the same thing, higher ranks playing on Iron/Bronze level on purpose, on low/unranked accs, getting the opposite team REALLY frustrated.