How to win lane as Gangplank against Illaoi · 51.78% win rate over 589 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Gangplank | She has no E and barely any tentacles at level 1 — I last-hit and poke with Parrrley from range before she can punish anything. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Her tentacles and E are coming online, but with one keg up I can still trade from distance — it's a genuine coin-flip on who lands their setup first. |
| Level 3 | Illaoi | Her E (Test of Spirit) rips out a spirit vessel and her tentacles batter it; my kegs are still long-cooldown and free-hit deniable, so the field fight is hers. |
| Levels 4-5 | Illaoi | Levels 4-5 her tentacle field is dense and slams me for huge AoE while my barrels still can't burst — I'm conceding and just farming Parrrley. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | My Cannon Barrage carpets the tentacle ring her R drops so it can't pin me — the skirmish flattens back to even. |
| First item | Even / skill | My first-item Parrrley spike lets me chip the field from range, but her tentacle sustain heals it back — it stays a wash. |
| Two+ items | Gangplank | By 2+ items my on-hit Parrrley and chained kegs detonate from outside tentacle range, and she's helpless the instant she's pulled off her field. |
Level 1 is mine — she has no E yet and only a stray passive tentacle, so I last-hit with Parrrley at range and chip her for free without ever stepping into a slam. The second she hits 3 it inverts: her E rips out a spirit vessel I have to chase or flee from, and any tentacle near it pounds the vessel to damage the real me. Do NOT trade in melee here. Drop a Powder Keg at max distance, detonate it with Q, and pull straight back before a tentacle winds up. The cardinal sin in this lane is eating E next to a cluster of her tentacles — that's not a trade, that's a death.
The full Gangplank vs Illaoi 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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Playing the other side? Illaoi vs Gangplank guide →
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