How to win lane as Cho'Gath against Maokai · 47.62% win rate (189 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Silence his root — Q-zone, out-scale him.
Track: Maokai's W — Twisted Advance (14–10s cooldown). His lock-on root. Silence around it.
Read from Cho'Gath's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Maokai.
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Two of the weakest tank level-1s — start Q, deny his last-hits, and set up the lane since neither of you threatens a kill yet. |
| Level 2 | Maokai | His saplings and Bramble Smash knockback chip you while you're slow and reliant on landing one delayed Rupture to trade back. |
| Level 3 | Maokai | You're short-ranged and skillshot-dependent here — he farms safely behind sapling poke and concedes you nothing. |
| Levels 4-5 | Even / skill | Carnivore sustain, Vorpal Spikes waveclear, and your Rupture-into-Feral-Scream combo stabilize you into an even farm war against another immobile tank. |
| Level 6 | Cho'Gath | Feast's true damage ignores his armor and MR entirely — your one real kill threat and the stage you own outright. |
| First item | Even / skill | Both go full tank and the duel flattens — sapling poke vs Rupture knock-up, neither converts, so the cell is genuinely even. |
| Two+ items | Maokai | Twisted Advance is a targeted root-dash engage and his brush saplings control fights — his root utility out-values your single-target Feast in 5v5s. |
Two immobile tanks, but Maokai edges the opening because Sapling Toss and Bramble Smash (Q, 7s at rank 1) chip you for free while you wait out a slow, telegraphed Rupture. Don't throw Q into auto range hoping to start a trade — every spell of yours that strikes him also shortens Sap Magic's heal cooldown, so aimless poke feeds his sustain instead of grinding it. Last-hit at the tip of Q and accept the chip.
Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Cho'Gath's side, sampled July 2026.
The full Cho'Gath vs Maokai report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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Maokai, slightly — Cho'Gath wins 47.62% of 189 games; winnable with the right plan.
Mostly — Maokai has a small statistical edge (52.38% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.
No — if anything Maokai has the slight edge (Cho'Gath wins 47.62%), though it stays close.
Cho'Gath takes Grasp of the Undying on the Resolve tree with Demolish, Second Wind and Overgrowth, and Precision secondary (Triumph and Legend: Haste) vs Maokai.
Start Doran's Shield + Health Potion and back for Executioner's Calling (≈800g) — cuts his healing. Build Heartsteel (stacks with Feast forever) first, then Riftmaker / Thornmail, with Mercury's Treads.
Playing the other side? Maokai vs Cho'Gath guide →
All Cho'Gath top lane matchups →
More Cho'Gath top lane matchups: vs Locke · vs Lucian · vs Malphite · vs Master Yi · vs Mel · vs Mordekaiser