Illaoi vs Gangplank — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Illaoi against Gangplank · 48.17% win rate over 1,287 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: Closer than it looks — Illaoi owns 5 of the 7 game windows to Gangplank's 2, but the win rate still favours Gangplank: you have to convert those windows or the game slips away. Illaoi wins 48.17% of games vs Gangplank in top lane (1,287 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1GangplankGangplank wins level 1 — Q Parrrley out-ranges and pokes you before you can close.
Level 2IllaoiLevel 2 flips to you as W lets you dash on and punish him.
Level 3IllaoiLevel 3 is yours: E rips a Spirit and tentacles beat his single-barrel burst.
Levels 4-5IllaoiLevels 4-5 you keep control by smashing barrels before they chain.
Level 6IllaoiLevel 6 R tentacle wall plus E-Spirit out-damages his pre-cluster burst.
First itemIllaoiFirst item stays yours while you deny full keg setups.
Two+ itemsGangplankTwo-plus items flip to Gangplank as chained barrels zone your tentacles and R disengages your all-ins.

Early game (levels 1–5)

Gangplank wins the opener — his Q Parrrley out-ranges you and lets him last-hit and poke safely before you have gap-close. Take no free barrel damage and wait for level 2.

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Illaoi vs Gangplank 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? Gangplank vs Illaoi guide →
All Illaoi top lane matchups →