You’re 12 minutes into a ranked match when someone types “nt” in all-chat. Then they run straight into the enemy spawn. Again. And again. By round 8 they’ve got 0 kills and 14 deaths, and your team is down 3-11. Congrats, you’ve just met one.
Derank is when a player intentionally loses ranked matches to drop to a lower skill tier. That’s the whole idea. They stop trying, feed the enemy team, or straight up AFK in spawn. And they do it on purpose. Not because they’re having a bad day, because they want that bronze badge.
Where It Came From
The term itself is pretty new-school. It started showing up around the mid-2010s when ranked systems got serious, think League of Legends season 3, CS:GO’s rank overhaul, Valorant’s launch. Before that, people just called it “throwing” or “feeding.” But once games started tracking your MMR like a credit score, players needed a word for the reverse climb.
The concept though? Way older. Smurfing has been around since the StarCraft days. Experienced players would make new accounts to stomp noobs. But buying a fresh account costs money (or time). This became the budget option, just tank your existing account down to Iron and suddenly you’re the apex predator in a lobby full of actual beginners. It’s like reverse boosting, except you don’t need a second console.
By 2019, the practice had become enough of a plague that major games started building detection systems. Riot added “intentional feeding” reports to League. Valve tweaked CS:GO’s rank decay. But here’s the thing, the trolls got smarter. They don’t always run it down mid anymore. Sometimes they just “play bad” in subtle ways. Missing shots they’d normally hit. Ignoring callouts. “Oops, didn’t hear you.” Yeah, sure.
How Gamers Actually Use It
Picture a ranked lobby, down 4v5:
Teammate: “Bro why is our Jett peeking A main with a Classic every round?” You: “She’s throwing. Check her tracker, she was Diamond last act.” Teammate: “Reported.” You: “Good luck. She’s not even typing.”
The word gets used as both a verb and a noun. “He’s deranking” = actively throwing. “That guy’s a deranker” = his whole identity. You’ll see it in Discord servers, Reddit rant threads, and Twitter clips where someone’s match history looks like a ski slope. Twenty losses in a row. All solo queue. All with 0.1 KDA.
Some players do this so they can queue with lower-ranked friends without rank restrictions. Others do it to make content, “Road from Radiant to Iron” videos that get views because people love watching train wrecks. And yeah, some people are just bored and want to ruin someone’s evening. There’s no shortage of those.
Ranked, minute 23:
Enemy Sage: “gg ez” Your Omen: “nt you’re getting reported” Enemy Sage: “idc i’m throwing lol” Your Omen: “touch grass”
Why It Stuck Around
Because ranked systems are easy to game, and human nature loves shortcuts. That’s the boring answer. The real answer is that the practice touches something deep in competitive culture, the gap between skill and rank.
Some trolls genuinely believe they “belong” in a lower rank because they got carried. Others think the system is broken and they’re “stuck” because of bad teammates. (Spoiler: it’s never the teammates.) And then there’s the economic angle, boosting services need dropped accounts to sell as “smurfs.” It’s a whole supply chain. Throw matches → drop to low elo → sell account → someone else buys it to feel like a god for ten matches.
The community response has been predictably hostile. Subreddits like r/Valorant and r/GlobalOffensive have weekly threads complaining about these players. Twitch streamers call them out live. Some games now hand out month-long bans for confirmed intentional throwing. But it’s whack-a-mole. One account gets banned, three more pop up.
Here’s my take: this behavior is the gaming equivalent of cutting in line. Everyone sees it, everyone hates it, and the people doing it always have an excuse. “I’m just playing with friends.” “The rank system is rigged.” “It’s just a game.” Nah. It’s 45 minutes of my life I’ll never get back, and my RR is gone.
Derank vs Smurf: The Real Difference
| Derank | Smurf | |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Your main, intentionally ruined | Fresh or bought, clean slate |
| Method | Lose on purpose over days/weeks | Start from placement matches |
| Detection | Harder (looks like bad play) | Easier (new account, obvious stats) |
| Community hate | Extreme (you’re destroying your team) | High (but at least you’re trying to win) |
This is the part most guides miss. Smurfs want to win, just against easier opponents. Derankers want to lose, and they don’t care who they drag down with them. One is greedy, the other is malicious.
FAQ
Is this the same as smurfing?
Short answer: no, but they’re cousins. Smurfing is playing on a low-ranked account, usually fresh or bought. This is taking your main account and intentionally tanking it. The end result is the same (you’re in a lobby you don’t belong in), but the method differs. Smurfs buy a new mask. These guys burn their old one.
When do people actually do this?
Usually at the end of a ranked act or season, when rewards are already locked in and there’s nothing left to lose. Some drop right before a new season so they can placement-match into lower lobbies. It’s like fiscal year-end for trolls.
Do people still do this in 2026?
Unfortunately, yes. Anti-cheat and behavior systems got better, but so did the trolls. The subtle ones are nearly impossible to detect automatically. If someone just “plays badly” without typing or running into walls, algorithms struggle to prove intent. Human reviewers catch some, but not enough.
How do I explain this to someone who doesn’t game?
Imagine a pro basketball player sneaking into a middle school pickup game. But instead of just showing up, he spends a month missing shots on purpose in his pro league so his stats drop low enough to qualify. That’s the behavior. Everyone involved hates it except him.
Can you get banned for this?
Yes, if you’re obvious about it. Riot, Valve, and Blizzard all hand out suspensions for “intentional disruption” or “griefing.” The problem is proving intent. If you type “i’m throwing lol” in chat, you’re done. If you just whiff every shot and ignore comms, you might skate by for a while.
