How to win the jungle race as Briar against Xin Zhao · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Read from Briar's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Xin Zhao.
| Stage | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Clear | Respect Xin Zhao | The W challenge into Three Talon Strike knock-up chains you down before you can answer — Briar has no answer to that at level 1. Three Talon Strike's knock-up plus passive healing wins the first buff-pit duel on their half of the map too, so skip the level-1 crossing and answer the pressure cross-map. |
| Level 2 Skirmish | Respect Xin Zhao | Wind Becomes Lightning (W) challenge poke starts trades they finish for free, and Briar has no clean answer to it on the second camp — the W challenge into Three Talon Strike knock-up chains you down before you can answer. Respect the river bushes and disengage before the third Q hit lands, and give up the second buff rather than the kill. |
| Level 3 Route | Even Skirmish | Even at the opening scuttle, for a concrete reason — the full knock-up combo with W slow is among the top three level-3 duels, while frenzy healing plus charged Chilling Scream is one of the hardest level-3 all-ins. Respect the river bushes and disengage before the third Q hit lands, and let the camp timers choose the fight for you. |
| Levels 4-5 Macro | Respect Xin Zhao — Path Opposite | Levels 4-5 still belong to Xin Zhao in a straight fight — farm the opposite side, answer their ganks cross-map, and wait for your spike. |
| Level 6 Breakpoint | Respect Xin's R | Crescent Guard makes the 1v1 literal, which is the whole problem: Crescent Guard isolates you from your team and wins the resulting 1v1. Fight him with numbers before the R cast or poke the duel down from range, and spend Certain Death to equalize rather than to open. |
| First Item Spike | Sundered Sky / Eclipse Spike | Completing your core item triggers a massive physical damage and sustained fighting multiplier that completely overpowers traditional brawlers or isolated targets. Xin Zhao's first item is a sharp jump — the knock-up combo goes from a strong trade to a kill on most junglers. |
| 2+ Items Scaling | Briar Favoured — Wins Late | Xin Zhao falls off relative to you — from two items on you win the raw stat check, even though he isolates one target with Crescent Guard and wins the 1v1 he just created. Drag the game long and force the 1v1s. |
Start your clear at the Raptors or Red Buff camp utilizing your W frenzy to maximize early clear speed and sustain. Xin Zhao clears fast and heals off Determination, so he reaches three healthy and looking for the first fight.
Ranked by the race windows in Briar's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.
The full Briar vs Xin Zhao report continues with scuttle & dragon rules, invade windows and safety boundaries, the top-side objective fight, macro rotations and the win condition — plus the live enemy-jungle tracker that shows their start, clear and gank timers in game.
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No clear favourite — Briar holds 2 windows, Xin Zhao 4, the rest are even.
Yes — Briar vs Xin Zhao plays as a skill matchup: the jungle race swings window to window, and the better first clear usually sets the tone.
Playing the other side? Xin Zhao vs Briar guide →
All Briar jungle matchups →
More Briar jungle matchups: vs Volibear · vs Warwick · vs Wukong · vs Zac · vs Zyra · vs Amumu