How to win lane as Olaf against Sylas · 51.01% win rate over 2,627 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Olaf | You both fight melee, but your Q-slow-into-auto and passive attack speed win first contact - Sylas has no early sustain edge yet. |
| Level 2 | Olaf | Your E true damage nuke lands before his W omnivamp comes online to pay it back. |
| Level 3 | Olaf | Q plus E gives you a guaranteed true-damage burst his single W heal can't out-sustain at this level. |
| Levels 4-5 | Olaf | Axe-reset slows and W omnivamp let you out-grind his Q-W drain through short trades. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Level 6 is even-to-his-favor - his R steals your Ragnarok, so the CC-immune all-in you'd rely on is now his too. |
| First item | Even / skill | Your bruiser-core all-in still trades with a one-rotation Sylas, but his stolen-R and E stun keep it close. |
| Two+ items | Sylas | Full-AP Sylas drains through your damage with Q-W and kites you with E-chain stuns while your flat true damage falls off. |
Sylas is also melee, so you actually get to fight - this isn't a kiter lane. Land your Q to slow him and walk him down; at 2-3 your E true damage burst beats anything his W drain heals back. Watch his E - it's a two-part chain dash that stuns, so bait it out before you all-in, because if he lands it he peels your commit. His Q is a double-cast cone that heals him on the second hit, so don't sit in it while he ramps sustain.
The full Olaf vs Sylas 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? Sylas vs Olaf guide →
All Olaf top lane matchups →