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We built a tool to spot smurfs at match start

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No Smurf 5 Posts October 09 2026 16:21 GMT #1 TL;DR: We built No Smurf, a free companion tool (Windows / macOS / Linux) that reads opponent names during the loading screen via StarCraft II's official local client API, checks public ladder history on SC2 Pulse for smurf patterns (early leaves, extreme MMR deltas, matchup dodging), and gives you an instant readout and optional voice announcement before the game begins. 100% local, no memory hooks, no account linking, and zero telemetry. Download free at https://nosmurf.com We've all been there: you queue up for some 1v1 ladder after a long day, run into a "Gold 1" or "Plat 2" account with a barcode name, get completely dismantled in 4 minutes by someone with 350 APM and razor-sharp macro, and check their profile afterwards only to find 15 insta-leaves at 0:02 game time. It's super frustrating, messes with your MMR, and honestly just makes queueing up feel demoralizing when you're trying to practice and improve. So a few of us put together a lightweight, free companion tool called No Smurf to help check who you're playing against without any manual hassle. We just wanted some peace of mind while grinding games, and to make ladder sessions feel better: No more ladder anxiety: Takes the edge off searching for a match. If you get completely rolled, you know immediately whether it was a real peer or someone 1,500 MMR above you—so you don't tilt or doubt yourself. Improve faster: Spend time analyzing replays and practicing builds from legitimate games at your actual skill level, rather than trying to figure out why a 5.5k smurf crushed you. Fairer gameplay: Spot smurfs right away so you have the context you need. More fun: SC2 is at its best when matches are genuine and competitive. How it works Instead of alt-tabbing and furiously trying to look up barcode names on SC2 Pulse while the game is loading, No Smurf talks to SC2's local client API in the background: Automatic detection: As soon as you hit the loading screen, it simply reads your opponent's in-game name and race (no hotkeys, no typing, no screenshotting). Checks match history: It checks public stats on SC2 Pulse to spot telltale smurfing patterns (career peaks, insta-leave streaks, matchup dodging, crazy win rates in ultra-short games, etc.). Shows a full breakdown: Alongside a clear visual indicator (No Smurf, Possible Smurf, Likely Smurf, or Definitely Smurf), it displays an MMR history graph, player stats (current vs career peak MMR, fast win/loss counts), and an 8-metric Smurf Barometer highlighting exactly where suspicious patterns triggered. Optional voice readout (TTS): So you can keep your eyes on the game, it can just read the result out loud while the countdown ticks down. Handles new / returning accounts: If a player has fewer than 10 games on record, there isn't enough history for full metrics—so the app flags "Too few matches for analysis" while still checking their career peak against your rating to highlight the MMR difference and let you know it's a fresh account. The 4 Smurf Probability Levels Here is what the screen looks like when a match is detected: 1. No Smurf (Clean / Normal Player): 2. Possible Smurf (Minor / Moderate Discrepancy): 3. Likely Smurf (High Risk Flags): 4. Definitely Smurf (Tanked MMR / Heavy Smurf): What it looks for No Smurf calculates a smurf score based on 8 concrete metrics from public match history: MMR Delta: Gap between Career Peak MMR and Current MMR. W/L Ratio (Fast Games): Compares instant wins to instant leaves in matches under 60 seconds. Duration Ratio: Compares average win duration against average loss duration (normal wins vs instant losses). Smurf Losses (%): Percentage of total losses that occurred in under 60 seconds. Mirror Loss %: Unusually high loss rates in same-race matches (ZvZ, PvP, TvT) indicating matchup dodging. Account Maturity: Total career games played (identifying fresh accounts used to stomp lower leagues). Unranked Preference: Percentage of matches played in Unranked mode. Random Preference: Percentage of recent matches played as Random. If you're curious about how each metric is scored, the point thresholds, or want to see case study examples, check out the full breakdown on our metrics page: https://nosmurf.com/metrics.html Additional Features Barcode Disambiguation: Resolves barcode accounts (IIIIIIII) by matching active clusters and recent activity. 100% Local & Private: Everything runs directly on your machine. No Smurf never collects personal data, tracks your games, or uploads/shares your information anywhere. Safe & Non-Intrusive: Uses official local API endpoints without touching game memory, revealing hidden gameplay info, or modifying game files. Lightweight & Cross-Platform: Native packages for Windows, macOS, and Linux with zero background lag or performance impact. 100% Free: No paywalls, no subscriptions, no ads, and zero telemetry. Origins & Credits This project was inspired by the 2024 Smurf Check proof-of-concept, which demonstrated the viability of automated opponent checking via screen capture and OCR. No Smurf is a completely separate, independent rewrite: Client API Integration: Replaced the legacy OCR engine with direct StarCraft II Client API polling—making player extraction instantaneous with zero false reads or typos. Expanded Metrics: Added new detection metrics like Account Maturity, Unranked & Random play frequency, and barcode cluster filtering. Modern UI & TTS: Overhauled the interface with a dark SC2-themed aesthetic, voice announcements, and native cross-platform packages (Windows installer, macOS .pkg, and Linux Flatpak). Note: This software is independently developed and maintained; the author of the 2024 proof-of-concept is not affiliated with or responsible for this application. Links & Downloads No Smurf is available now for Windows, macOS, and Linux: Website & Downloads: https://nosmurf.com Deep dive into the stats/metrics: https://nosmurf.com/metrics.html Support & Documentation: https://nosmurf.com/help.html#support Smurfing hurts the entire StarCraft II community, and our hope with No Smurf is to give everyone a simple way to recognize suspicious patterns and help keep this amazing game alive. Suggestions, test cases, and feedback are always welcome—feel free to share No Smurf with your friends, and help us build a fairer ladder together!

CicadaSC United States2021 Posts October 09 2026 17:56 GMT #2 I get why mmr delta is there but I think a lot of returning players will see massive hits on this. I haven't played seriously in 7 years and I'm currently 1500 mmr from my career peak

jimminy_kriket Canada5546 Posts October 09 2026 23:39 GMT #3 It uses 5-15% of my 6 core cpu at all times.. Also theres no way to control it. What i mean is it has no task bar or whatever you want to call it. Cant move the window, even with the move command. Cant minimize, close, etc. Edit: Way too much cpu usage, while doing nothing. Could be mining with that much cpu usage. Not trusting it at the moment.

No Smurf 5 Posts October 10 2026 00:12 GMT #4 @CicadaSC: Totally fair point! Peak MMR is only 1 of 8 checks and adds just 1 point max, so natural rust from a long break will never flag you as a smurf on its own. @jimminy_kriket: Thanks for testing the app and sharing your report. A couple of quick clarifications on what is happening: 1. CPU Usage: Windows Task Manager displays percentage load relative to a single logical core rather than overall system capacity, which can look misleading. 2. Window Controls & Sizing: In your screenshot, display scaling is probably causing the interface to render larger than your screen dimensions, pushing the standard title bar, close, and minimize controls past the top and bottom edges. We are currently in Beta. Please drop a quick note through our support page with your screen resolution and DPI scaling so we can fine-tune this in the next update. Reports like this help us improve compatibility across different setups.

jimminy_kriket Canada5546 Posts October 10 2026 00:33 GMT #5 My scaling is at 100% (default) and im at 1080p on both monitors. I still think that is too much cpu to be using for this. Is it checking every 5ms or something? It must be checking too soon for an opponent or something.

No Smurf 5 Posts October 10 2026 06:09 GMT #6 Thanks for clarifying! That explains the window issue: the app's default window height is currently set to 1200px in the beta, so on a 1080p display, it overflows the screen height and pushes the title bar off-screen. The CPU usage is just the embedded UI rendering loop staying active in the background rather than fully sleeping while waiting for a match. We're pushing a patch in the next update to fit 1080p screens cleanly and throttle the idle UI rendering down to near-zero.

LUCKY_NOOB Bulgaria1630 Posts October 10 2026 21:37 GMT #7 I just assume every1 is way better than me. Works 99% of the time. Cool to see new tools popping up recently!

No Smurf 5 Posts October 11 2026 08:32 GMT #8 Thanks for the feedback! Glad to hear you're finding the tool useful.

Defiect United States7 Posts October 16 2026 06:02 GMT #9 I've been meaning to make something like this myself, if this works well then this could be a boon to a lot of people. That said, distributing this as an opaque executable and keeping the source code closed is an instant deal-breaker. I recommend reconsidering whatever thought process you had that resulted in going closed-source.

No Smurf 5 Posts October 17 2026 10:07 GMT #10 @jimminy_kriket: A new version of the app is live now, with support for smaller displays as well. @Defiect: In our experience, SC2 is much more fun when you know whether you're playing against a smurf or not. It's really made a big difference for us (and others). Regarding open-source: We decided on this because the app is simply much easier to maintain this way. We totally understand the concern about closed-source binaries, and everyone has to decide for themselves. Maybe someone in the community could test the app in a safe environment and report back?

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