How to win the jungle race as Xin Zhao against Zac · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Read from Xin Zhao's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Zac.
| Stage | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Clear | Xin Zhao Dominant | Three Talon Strike's knock-up plus passive healing wins the first buff-pit duel, while blob sustain keeps their clear healthy, but champion trades are losers. Only one of those wins at the first buff, so press it: take the level-1 crossing, then leave with a camp and a chunk of their health bar. |
| Level 2 Skirmish | Xin Zhao Dominant | Wind Becomes Lightning (W) challenge poke starts trades you finish for free. Elastic Slingshot is for ganks, and with one camp still up on both sides that is not an answer. Take the level-2 skirmish and make Zac path away from the camps you want. |
| Level 3 Route | Xin Zhao Dominant | The full knock-up combo with W slow is among the top three level-3 duels. There is no version of this Zac wins right now — blob sustain keeps their clear healthy, but champion trades are losers, and that folds at the opening scuttle. Show on their side of the river and take the first scuttle and the gank window behind it. |
| Levels 4-5 Macro | Xin Zhao Dominant — Keep Fighting | Nothing about 4-5 helps Zac here: he charges Elastic Slingshot from fog through 4-5 and is more dangerous off your screen than on it, while you can take any duel you can reach. Invade on the clear-timer, not on a whim. |
| Level 6 Breakpoint | Crescent Guard Favoured | Crescent Guard makes the 1v1 literal — outside help is deleted from your duel. The fog Slingshot into Let's Bounce! keeps your whole side airborne — respect that one window, but the six-spike comparison favors you: take the post-6 duel whenever HP bars start even. |
| First Item Spike | Sundered Sky / Eclipse Spike | Completing your core item triggers a massive damage, health, and sustain multiplier that completely overpowers traditional brawlers or isolated targets. Zac's first item is a durability spike, so he does not start killing you — he starts surviving whatever you send. |
| 2+ Items Scaling | Danger — Zac Outscales | The clock is your enemy. He is a fog engage with two health bars, so the first kill is only temporary, so close the game on the first two objectives you actually win. |
Start your clear at the Red Buff camp utilizing your Q resets and passive to maximize early clear speed and health. Zac clears steadily with blob sustain and Unstable Matter, and he never has to recall for health before six.
Ranked by the race windows in Xin Zhao's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.
The full Xin Zhao vs Zac 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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Xin Zhao's race plan controls 6 of the 7 windows — Xin Zhao holds the tempo advantage in this jungle matchup.
Not exactly — Xin Zhao's race plan controls 6 of the 7 windows, so Zac is playing catch-up and has to lean on the map.
Playing the other side? Zac vs Xin Zhao guide →
All Xin Zhao jungle matchups →
More Xin Zhao jungle matchups: vs Volibear · vs Warwick · vs Wukong · vs Zyra · vs Amumu · vs Bel'Veth