Illaoi vs Cassiopeia — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Illaoi against Cassiopeia · 50.88% win rate over 340 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: A genuine skill matchup — the favour swings window to window (2 apiece of the 7 stages). Illaoi wins 50.88% of games vs Cassiopeia in top lane (340 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1CassiopeiaCassiopeia's Q poke and W zone win the level-1 range battle.
Level 2Even / skillSkill at 2: her poke vs your incoming gap-close roughly cancel.
Level 3IllaoiW Harsh Lesson closes the gap and lets you punish from 3.
Levels 4-5IllaoiA landed E on an escape-less Cassiopeia beats her poke at 4-5.
Level 6Even / skillSkill at 6: her R stun and your R wall threaten each other equally.
First itemEven / skillSkill first item: the trade hinges on closing before her E stacks.
Two+ itemsCassiopeiaLate, full-AP poke and R Petrifying Gaze lock you out of fights.

Early game (levels 1–5)

Cassiopeia pokes you down at level 1 with Q Noxious Blast before you can reach her, and her W Miasma zones your tentacle plants, so the opening favors her ranged harass.

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Illaoi vs Cassiopeia 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? Cassiopeia vs Illaoi guide →
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