How to win the jungle race as Maokai against Master Yi · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Read from Maokai's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Master Yi.
| Stage | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Clear | Even Skirmish | Dead-even at the first buff: Sapling Toss bush-bombs poke contests for free, while Alpha Strike untargetability dodges your key spell and Wuju true damage wins long trades. Whoever arrives with more HP and cooldowns wins — track their clear and choose the moment, not the coin-flip. |
| Level 2 Skirmish | Even Skirmish | Neither side cleanly wins level 2 — Alpha Strike untargetability dodges your key spell and Wuju true damage wins long trades, but Twisted Advance root trades keep skirmishes on your schedule. Trade only from full health; the first mis-step decides this, not the kits. |
| Level 3 Route | Even Skirmish | Even at the opening scuttle: Bramble Smash knock-back plus the W root is a solid pick kit, not a stat-check, and as the first scuttle timer lands neither of you can force it. Hold your main ability until Alpha ends, and force fights before his items arrive, and contest the first scuttle only with the health lead. |
| Levels 4-5 Macro | Respect Master Yi — Path Opposite | Levels 4-5 still belong to Master Yi in a straight fight — farm the opposite side, answer their ganks cross-map, and wait for your spike. |
| Level 6 Breakpoint | Respect Yi's R | Master Yi wins the breakpoint outright — Highlander's slow immunity plus Alpha resets snowball any post-6 cleanup, and Highlander makes him un-kitable and every takedown resets the chase. Hard CC is the only answer — chain stuns or do not take the post-6 fight, then trade objectives cross-map until your items land. |
| First Item Spike | Sunfire Aegis Spike | Completing Sunfire Aegis gives you a constant area burn plus health, so camps melt while you stand in them and every extended fight with a brawler has free damage ticking on your side. Master Yi's first item is the start of the curve rather than a spike — his real jump is the second and third. |
| 2+ Items Scaling | Danger — Master Yi Outscales | Every minute past 25 tilts toward Master Yi — he is the strongest 1v1 in the game and hard CC is the only answer left. Force your win condition early or watch it slip away slowly. |
Start your clear at the Raptors or Wolves camp utilizing your stacked E saplings to maximize early AoE clear speed without a leash. Master Yi clears very fast with Alpha Strike and Wuju Style, and he will be a level ahead if nobody interrupts him.
Ranked by the race windows in Maokai's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.
The full Maokai vs Master Yi 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 — Maokai holds 1 window, Master Yi 3, the rest are even.
Yes — Maokai vs Master Yi 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? Master Yi vs Maokai guide →
All Maokai jungle matchups →
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