Is AOE full of smurfs between 900 and 1100 elo?

Age of Empires II: DE II - Discussion
1

Unless I’m mistaken, ranked games feel much harder between 900 and 1100 elo. Once you get past 1100 elo, opponents seem relatively easier up to around 1300 - 1350elo.
Beyond 1300 - 1350 elo, you encounter players with a good skill level again.
I have the impression that there are a lot of smurfs in the 900–1100 elo range. Does anyone else feel the same?

After taking a break from AOE2 for 1 or 2 months, getting back into the game can be tough, and you might drop in elo. Add a bit of bad luck and a few early resignations from a teammate, and you can quickly find yourself back at 900.

Then hard to return at 1350

2

I believe that simply the closer you are to 1000, the more you meet players who are one-trick ponies.

The higher you Elo up, the rarer they become, and then you start having more standard matches that vaguely resemble your favourite streamer on Twitch. Because the better you get, the more you know how to handle these particular cases. So much so that fewer and fewer opponents try strange strategies.

3

Maybe out-of-topic, but I do see many smurfs at TG 1k5-1k6 range as well (LOTs of people with 1k8 TG elo somehow are there)