How to win lane as Illaoi against Zac · 52.7% win rate over 630 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Illaoi | Illaoi out-trades Zac at level 1 and denies his blob heals. |
| Level 2 | Illaoi | At 2 his cooldown-gated poke still loses to your stats. |
| Level 3 | Illaoi | W and E at 3 let you rip his spirit for a hard Illaoi tilt. |
| Levels 4-5 | Illaoi | Tentacle sustain crushes his blob poke through levels 4-5. |
| Level 6 | Illaoi | R's tentacle ring at 6 overwhelms his squishy engage body. |
| First item | Illaoi | First-item bruiser stats keep extended trades yours. |
| Two+ items | Zac | With 2+ tank items Zac's flank range and R displacement flip it to him. |
You out-brawl Zac at level 1-2: his damage comes from cooldown-gated Q/E blobs and you can walk on the blobs to deny his passive healing. Punish him whenever he steps up to last-hit and don't chase his Q pull into his jungler.
The full Illaoi vs Zac 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? Zac vs Illaoi guide →
All Illaoi top lane matchups →