Nunu & Willump vs Locke — Jungle Matchup Guide

How to win the jungle race as Nunu & Willump against Locke · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15

Verdict: Locke pressures 6 of the 7 windows in this race — survive the early game and scale into your windows.

The jungle race — the windows in Nunu & Willump's plan

Read from Nunu & Willump's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Locke.

StageReadWhy
Level 1 ClearRespect LockeAt level 1 this window belongs to Locke: Q nail volleys clear camps at range while banking marks for the first scuttle fight, and a stacked nail string into the blink-through consume deletes half a health bar. Fight him at full marks-zero and punish the ten seconds after his blink — E is his only exit. Skip the level-1 crossing and bank tempo on the opposite side of the map.
Level 2 SkirmishRespect LockeA stacked nail string into the blink-through consume deletes half a health bar — Nunu & Willump has no answer to that at level 2. The blink-auto mark consume chunks hard, but spending E in a duel spends the escape too on their half of the map too, so refuse the level-2 skirmish and answer the pressure cross-map.
Level 3 RouteRespect LockeW's grey-health refund makes his short trades cheaper than they look — full clears cost him real HP, and Nunu & Willump has no clean answer to it at the opening scuttle — a stacked nail string into the blink-through consume deletes half a health bar. Fight him at full marks-zero and punish the ten seconds after his blink — E is his only exit, and give up the first scuttle rather than the kill.
Levels 4-5 MacroRespect Locke — Path OppositeDo not trade windows with Locke here: he uses 4-5 to bank marks at range, then blinks in the moment the nail count says the kill is there. Path opposite, keep your entrances warded, and answer the map, not the champion.
Level 6 BreakpointRespect Locke's RPurgatory executes anyone who fights below the floor inside his totem — 'almost dead' becomes dead — Nunu & Willump loses the straight post-6 duel. Leave the totem zone above the threshold and kill him while E is down — his execute can't chase, and shift your pressure to the side of the map Purgatory is not on.
First Item SpikeLich Bane / Shadowflame SpikeHis Lich Bane spike is real: the blink-consume chunk one-shots chipped squishies. Respect the first-item window, then note his E is still a one-way door — punish every spent blink. Locke's first item makes the mark consume hit for a real chunk, which is when the blink stops being a poke tool.
2+ Items ScalingRespect Locke Late — End EarlyLate-game Locke scales with his seal count, not his items — deny executes and his floor never rises. Focus him when E is down and never let "almost dead" linger inside Purgatory.

How to beat Locke as Nunu & Willump: the first clear and pathing

Standard start — his level-1 clear is ranged but mana-hungry and his duel is honest at best; you dictate the early tempo, not him. Locke clears at range with Ritual Nails and banks marks while doing it, so his first scuttle arrives with stacks up.

Hardest and easiest matchups for Nunu & Willump in the jungle

Ranked by the race windows in Nunu & Willump's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.

Hardest

Easiest

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Nunu & Willump vs Locke 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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Common questions

Who wins Nunu & Willump vs Locke in the jungle?

Locke pressures 6 of the 7 windows in this race — survive the early game and scale into your windows.

Is Nunu & Willump vs Locke a skill matchup?

Not exactly — Locke pressures 6 of the 7 windows, so Nunu & Willump is playing catch-up and has to lean on the map.

Related guides

Playing the other side? Locke vs Nunu & Willump guide →
All Nunu & Willump jungle matchups →

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