Illaoi vs Graves — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Illaoi against Graves · 51.7% win rate over 2,677 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: A genuine skill matchup — the favour swings window to window (3 apiece of the 7 stages). Illaoi wins 51.7% of games vs Graves in top lane (2,677 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1GravesGraves-favoured: level 1 shotgun burst and dash out-trade you before W exists.
Level 2GravesGraves-favoured: level 2 he still out-ranges and out-bursts you with Quickdraw up.
Level 3IllaoiIllaoi-favoured: W Harsh Lesson lets you gap-close and punish his dash cooldown.
Levels 4-5IllaoiIllaoi-favoured: levels 4-5 your tentacle field and E pin trap his short range.
Level 6IllaoiIllaoi-favoured: R Leap of Faith forces him to trade inside the ring where slams win.
First itemEven / skillSkill: first item is even — his burst vs your Test of Spirit decides trades.
Two+ itemsGravesGraves-favoured: at 2+ items his range and double dash kite your tentacles.

Early game (levels 1–5)

Graves wins the first two levels hard — his shotgun burst and E Quickdraw dash let him trade and reposition before you have any way to stick, so farm cautiously and don't over-extend into his combo.

Read the rest of this matchup

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