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He is a very easy matchup unless he knows how to play it. You can win level 2, and lvl 3 if you take Q 2nd point. He can beat you if you're not playing smart, but it is very easy to dance around him if there is minions when he Q's. Bait the Q's out and then engage him.
Anivia
Fairly straightforward lane. You can win very easily. Beware of her damage, do not underestimate the frost bonus damage, but other than that, it is fairly simple to win lane. Dodge stun, and she has very little in the way of fighting you.
Annie
She can easily destroy you if you are not careful. Her W goes through your W, and if you windwall her Q stun, her passive stays up. If you're behind, build hexdrinker before you build noonquiver.
Ahri
Avoid the charm. Once you've baited it, you can simply run her down if she's low enough. Only windwall charm if you can guarantee a kill on her, otherwise try not to get hit by it (stay near minions). If you get hit by charm you WILL take a LOT of damage.
Akali
Skill matchup. Beware of her lvl 6 all in, she can absolutely demolish you if you're not careful. your W blocks her Q and E.
Aurelion Sol
He can definitely win if you're not playing around his stun. Try to dodge the stun if you can, if you absolutely must, you can windwall it. You CAN NOT W HIS STARS.
Azir
Can poke you out of lane, but can't really fight you when you're in his face. Be assertive of your presence, but do not over extend. If he goes to poke with his soldiers by pressing Q, go through minions and fight him, then back off.
Brand
Annoying matchup, take fleet. Dodge his stun, run him down. Fairly straight forward, just annoying to play out.
Camille
Camille's early game damage with a sheen, her CC and her natural lane bully presence/overall strength is a rough matchup for Yasuo. I recommend avoiding this matchup if you are picking after her. If you are counter picked take fleet, and play under tower. Dodge her stun if you can, and just ask for ganks. Best of luck if you face her.
Cassiopeia
I normally take fleet to negate a lot of the poke from poison+E. Play around her Q, you can W her W if she's going to all in you. Also if she is going to R, click behind you to look away, and thus preventing you from being stunned.
Cho'Gath
He can definitely be a pain to lane into sometimes, however that being said the Kraken slayer build works decently against him. Avoid his knockup, ask for ganks if he starts winning. Take TP summoner.
Corki
Honestly this matchup goes either way. Fairly even. Take Conq into him. You are stronger than him early game, but he tends to do all in's and has really strong late game potential if fed. You will be poked, just try and drain mana and then all in when he's low.
Darius
If I play top Yasuo I ban Darius. Darius' early game all in potential is something that I find Yasuo struggles really hard to match, and I often lose this matchup. Beware of his hook, E into the center his Q if you're on the outside of it and can't escape it. Ask for ganks, take fleet. If he magically doesn't get fed early, you can potentially outscale him, assuming he doesn't get items.
Diana
Matchup goes either way. If you are caught by Diana's all in potential, you will likely lose. If you are losing lane, take hex drinker before noonquiver. I suggest you try and poke her, along with attempt to drain her mana. Once she is low on mana she is fairly easy to take out.
Dr. Mundo
Mundo tend's to start Sunfire, and thus Yasuo tend's to struggle dealing with Mundo. I suggest you buy executioners early (i.e. first back if you can). Take conq, do the kraken slayer build. Avoid his Q's, and play assertive but back. Basically poke him with Q, and be aggressive when he over extends.
Ekko
Very skill based matchup. He can all in you and stick to you, so keep that in mind. He can poke with Q as well. Try and dodge his Q, then engage him. Be mindful of his W stun.
Fizz
Skill matchup. When he goes to farm engage him and poke him down. He has no way of farming aside from walking up and pressing W to last hit. BEWARE OF LVL 6 ALL IN. I suggest taking exhaust into him if you aren't sure.
Galio
His CC is very annoying, and he can set up for ganks very easily. You can win this matchup if you can bait out his CC. His Q poke is really annoying and I often take fleet into him because of it. If you're losing ask for ganks. If you're winning, don't get too cocky, he can easily turn the matchup around with one good gank.
Gangplank
As long as you don't get hit by a barrel and can out sustain his poke, you can easily run him down. Take TP if not confident. He CAN W YOUR R (MEANING HE CAN GET OUT OF YOUR R)
Garen
Avoid this matchup if you can. If Garen silences you he can just run you down. Ask for ganks if you got counter picked. Play back, and try not to die. Just farm up.
Gnar
Matchup goes either way. You can easily run down Mini Gnar. He can poke you out of lane. Avoid Mega Gnar stun whenever possible, as he can easily chain that with his R. Take Conq. Try and force his passive to proc, and then dodge the stun. You can run him down once his stun is down, but DO NOT TOWER DIVE MEGA GNAR IF HE HAS R.
Gragas
AP Gragas mid does a lot of damage and can easily destroy you. Play around his cooldowns and mana, and play back. Ask for ganks when you can, but be aggressive if he makes mistakes. Play for defensive, but be offensive when he makes a mistake.
Heimerdinger
Avoid the stun, and focus killing his turrets. He is a lane bully that only scales if he gets fed. Once his stun is on cool down you can easily run him down. Be mindful of his turret damage. Take fleet.
Illaoi
Avoid E and you can run her down early game. If she is fed she WILL outscale you. Unless you're 100% sure you can kill her, I suggest you let her force a lvl 6 all in. You can W her E if you must, but I suggest you only do that if she has R and is going to kill you. You can easily dodge her E if you time an E to a minion in a different direction (I.e. she throws one to you, and you E upwards away from it)
Irelia
This season's Irelia can easily make you have a bad game if you aren't mindful of her passive or her all in potential. Your W can block her E if you place it correctly, though I wouldn't rely on that, as it can be a buggy interaction and sometimes lead to you getting stunned anways. You can W her R as well. If in top, take TP. If in mid, take ignite. Let her shove waves, as she will struggle to run you down due to her being rather immobile with no minions around. Be careful of her Q masking E animation cancel (If timed correctly she can almost entirely hide the E animation with her Q).
Jax
He can easily stomp Yasuo if you don't play correctly. Bait out his stun, take a short trade then back off. Play defensively, and avoid his stun whenever possible. Season 11 Jax does a lot of damage once he gets his items, and he can easily get items from just two kills. Take TP, ask for ganks.
Jayce
Jayce is a lane bully. He has strong early game all in potential, along with strong poke. Once fed he can carry any game if he's good enough. Ask for ganks, play around his mistakes. Be careful of his damage.
Karma
Karma mid can poke you out of lane, but is fairly easy to deal with as Yasuo. Be careful of her E, but other than that, you can pretty much run her down if she's not smart. If you aren't comfortable with the matchup, take fleet.
Kassadin
He outscales you, but you win lane hard. Kass-o-win's lvl 16 and late game potential is unmatchable unless you can destroy him early and get fed. Take conq, take ignite. Be aggressive in this matchup, but pay attention to the map, he will likely ask the jungler to perm camp you.
Katarina
Skill matchup in favor of Yasuo. You can W her Q and her R. Match her aggression in lane, and try to dodge her dagger spins. Most Katarina's in S11 do the AD or AD/AP Hybrid build, so take Armor resistance. You can easily be lvl 2 all in'd so be mindful of that. However you can beat her most levels unless she is fed.
Kayle
She outscales you if she gets fed. Her early game pre-6 is really weak, however don't underestimate her poke lvl 6 and beyond. You can take either fleet or Conq. Take TP if top, take ignite if mid. She will likely build AP/AD Hybrid, most likely getting a Kraken slayer.
Kennen
Kennen's lane bully potential is actually really strong, and his most annoying strength is his CC. He can easily run you down if you don't watch his passive stacks. Play defensive, take fleet if you don't feel comfortable in the matchup. Ask for ganks to shut his lane phase down.
Kled
Kled's lvl 2 all in is fairly similar to that of Darius, so be mindful of his damage. If you bait his Q (Bear trap on a rope), you can engage him, but otherwise be careful. He can easily turn games with his R and how fed he can get. He can bully you out of lane. Ask for ganks, take TP.
LeBlanc
Skill matchup in favor of Yasuo. LB can easily stomp Yasuo when fed, however can struggle to match a Yasuo's potential constant poke into her. Play around her cooldowns, when she uses spells go in and fight her. Her Lvl 6 is pretty even with you, so if you're low, she will kill you. But that being said, if she's low on HP and mana without W you can most likely run her down.
Lissandra
This matchup really sucks, and Lissandra can easily get fed off Yasuo. Be careful of her root into R stun combo, and beware of her overall CC and damage. Play around her cooldowns, but be defensive. Let her shove wave, and ask for ganks.
Lucian
Lucian can be really annoying to deal with. His early game poke and damage is really strong for an ADC, however that being said, he relies on getting fed. Pay attention to his E (dash) cooldown, and pay attention to his positioning and how he plays.
Lux
A really good Lux can actually win this lane, however it is fairly easy. Bait out her Q and then you can pretty much all in her. If she doesn't use Q often, try and force it out of her. Be careful of the map, you will be ganked. She can set up really good ones too.
Malphite
Malph's armor is the major issue with him. Plus the CC from his R and Q can be really annoying. If he's building tank build a Kraken slayer. If he's building AP I suggest you build shieldbow. Malph's damage is fairly limited when his abilities are on cooldown, so engage him then. He will poke you out of lane, you may want fleet if it's AP malph mid.
Malzahar
Malzahar has natural lane presence due to his DOT and his CC. Let him shove the wave, then get in his face, knock his shield down, and poke him down. DO NOT ENGAGE HIM WHEN YOU ARE LOW BEYOND LVL 6. HE WILL KILL YOU WITH R+IGNITE AND E. DO NOT TOWER DIVE HIM IF HIS R IS UP.
Maokai
Same reason as Malphite, Maokai's CC, poke and tank stats often make it hard for you to do a whole lot. Ask for ganks, try not to die.
Mordekaiser
Unless the morde is absolutely dumb, you will likely lose this lane. Ask for ganks, play back. Avoid his passive and his E whenever possible. If you're gonna get bonked with his Q, make sure you're in the minion wave, as it will do less damage due to hitting more targets.
Morgana
Morg mid is a very boring and annoying lane. She has a lot of CC and DOT with her Q+W. once those are on cooldown, she will likely E your knockup, and then rinse and repeat. Take fleet if you're fighting her mid. Avoid her Q. Don't get stunned by R. Other than that, pretty straight forward. Go for poke trades when you can, and pay attention to map.
Nasus
Outscales you, and can easily run you down. Ask for ganks to shut him down early. Let him push. Punish and poke him when he goes for stacks. Any time a cannon is low, engage him if safe to do so, to try and prevent him from getting it. Take TP. If you don't get ganks, you will lose lane and late game.
Neeko
Fairly even matchup. She can easily stomp you, but you can easily stomp her. Dodge her E root, and avoid stepping in her Q. Once her abilities are on cooldown you should be okay to run her down a bit. Don't fight if you're low and she's lvl 6, she can easily kill with R into E into Q.
Nocturne
Nocturne mid is just stupid. He presses E and just runs you down. You will lose the matchup most likely. Ask for ganks. If you absolutely must, you can take exhaust, but honestly in my opinion it doesn't make much of a difference.
Olaf
Olaf top can run you down, play around his cooldowns. He can R out of yours, but yours still does damage. Ask for ganks.
Orianna
A good yasuo can stomp Ori extremely easily. If you're not familiar with the matchup, take fleet. She will poke you out of lane. Just try to outlast her poke until she has no mana, and you can engage. Her lvl 6 is pretty strong, especially when combined with a gank from enemy jungle.
Ornn
Ornn is fairly hard to fight as Yasuo. Play around his cooldowns, and avoid being knocked up by his E. W BLOCKS HIS R (Both travel paths, when he first casts it AND when it is on it's way to hit you/your team, so if he's casting it on your team, use your W to block it if you can)
Pantheon
Panth is super annoying to lane into. Avoid him when his W and his passive are up, and engage him when it is down. his Level 2 and Level 3 all in potential is extremely hard to deal with as Yasuo. You do outscale him, you just need to last long enough to get to that point. Ask for ganks, and likely they will happen, as panth will be shoving hard into you.
Poppy
Poppy basically just counters you entirely as a champion. She shuts your E down, she slows you, she bonks you, it is a horrible matchup. Take TP if top, and if some unknown reason she went mid, then good luck.
Pyke
Pyke mid is a skill matchup. A good pyke mid will know how to play against you, he will bait your W. Your W blocks both his E and his Q. You may want to take heal into him in the mid lane to counter his R (This is the only matchup I'd recommend heal into). Pyke's level 2, 3 and 6 all in potential is insane. He can even run you down if he takes E level 1. Be mindful of how he plays, he will likely be passive then suddenly strike, catching you off guard.
Qiyana
Aside from Qiyana's insane late game damage and her CC, this is a fairly even matchup that can be won by dodging her Ice Q's Root. You can W her R to prevent being stunned, however that's very tough to time correctly.
Quinn
Very, very, very annoying. When her blind is on cooldown and her passive is not on you, you can engage. Her roaming is unmatchable. She can easily run you down. However, if she plays poorly, you can easily win yourself. Take TP if top, and if mid, take exhaust.
Renekton
Renekton has always been a counter to Yasuo. Yasuo's weakest point is in the lane phase, and that is Renekton's strongest point. Renekton has some massive BDE and wants you to respect it. And you best respect it, or you're gonna int. Beware of Level 2, level 3 and beyond until around level 10 (if both are even on gold). You win level 1 if he takes Q, but thats pretty much the only time you really win in lane phase. Play around his cooldowns. Back off when he has W up, let him use it on a minion if you can. Once it is down you can engage. You may want exhaust (if mid), fleet footwork and a QSS if this matchup is really hard for you.
Rengar
I don't have much experience in this matchup, however I do know it is a really shit one. My best bet is to suggest you play away from the bushes, and play close to your tower. Ask for ganks, take TP.
Riven
Riven can easily run Yasuo down, however when her abilities are on cooldown she loses hard to Yasuo. Avoid her stun and her Q3, and then hard engage her. Basically, let her start the fights, avoid what you can, and then you can end the fights. At level 6 she can one shot you if you're at or around half HP if she knows her animation cancels. Be mindful, she can hide her R animation with W and E, and she can also cast several spells at once (i.e. Q+W+E, E+W, E+R, W+R, Q+W+ER etc). If they're a riven that knows what they're doing, you'll likely lose.
Rumble
Rumble wins lane phase, and then outscales you if fed. Ask for ganks, take fleet. If top take TP. Avoid his passive empowered flame, then engage when his abilities are on cooldown. Be defensive, let him have lane priority.
Ryze
Unless you royally screw this lane up, you win this easily. You can shut him down early. Once you're ahead, transfer your lead to one of the side lanes (Top or Bot, likely a good idea to transfer it Bot side). Ryze will scale, so if you shut him down early, you will slow his scaling down. He will eventually hit a powerspike, so be ready for that if the game goes on long enough for that. Be careful of ganks.
Sett
Sett's a pretty decently strong matchup. Avoid his E, dodge the center of his W, and be mindful of his R. He is very immobile. He will likely build Goredrinker or Sunfire. If he goes gore drinker build an executioners. Ask for ganks.
Shen
Shen is similar to Poppy and Jax where they just shut you down as a champion, and then you can't really do a whole lot. Ask for ganks, play defensively. Bait out his E and his W, and engage, then go back to being defensive. You don't want to stick in a fight with him. Just farm up when you can.
Singed
Singed can just run you down. Respect him, and you should be fine. If needed, take fleet. Take TP. Your W blocks his W (the grounding blob).
Sion
Tanky, hard to deal with, lots of CC, and does big damage. You can engage when he has his abilities on cooldown. Dodge his Q whenever possible, because he does massive damage with it.
Swain
Skill matchup. Dodge his root and then fight him. When he has no root, he is very weak. When he hits you with his root he does big damage, and can really mess your wave up too. Match his aggression in the lane, but dodge his abilities.
Sylas
Very, very even matchup. Avoid the bonus damage pop on his Q (the chain slam). Bait his W (his healing) and his E (The ability where he dashes, then can grab with his chain on recast) then fight him. He will likely use W when he's low, so get an executioners to cut some of that heal down.
Syndra
Fairly straight forward: Don't get hit by her balls, and you'll be fine. She is poke heavy, and VERY VERY BURSTY. Additionally, she is also very mana hungry, so she will likely use a decent amount trying to farm or poke you. You can block her E (where she shoves the balls) with your W, though if it is close enough, it may still stun you (similar to how Irelia's stun may stun you still, through the W)
Talon
His early game and his roam potential are extremely hard to match as Yasuo. Take exhaust, don't trade him early as he can one shot you level 2 and 3 if you're not careful.
Teemo
Bait his Q, engage him when it is down. His Q blocks your Q, more on why in the "Mechanics" Chapter on the guide. He is a poke heavy champ, but can't fight champs that get in his face when his Q is down.
Trundle
Trundle top can run you down. Just farm under tower.
Tryndamere
Level 6 he can easily stomp you, but aside from that, you win lane phase. You must understand however, he will endlessly split to apply pressure on the map to allow his team to do objectives or get towers elsewhere. Force him to team fight, he is a really bad team fighter in comparison to the afk brain split pushing he is known for. He can run you down easily, so be careful of that.
Twisted Fate
You're one of the hardest counters to twisted fate. Avoid getting hit by Yellow/Gold card, and you win lane. He WILL roam with R, as he does not want to fight you. Ping when he hits level 6.
Urgot
Do not fight Urgot. Farm under tower. He curb stomps Yasuo. Take TP.
Veigar
Aside from late game, Veigar is very, very weak. Don't get hit by his E+W+Q+R combo and you win lane. Avoid using W unless you're low and he presses R. He will likely bait out your W when you're low with a Q, unless it kills you, tank that so he can't kill you with R.
Vel'Koz
Avoid allowing Vel to stack his passive. His level 6 is strong, and he is very strong when he gets fed. Avoid getting hit by his Q. Fairly straight forward. If uncomfortable in this lane, take fleet.
Viktor
A bad Viktor loses this lane hard. A good one will stomp you. Avoid his skill shots, don't dive him if he has R.
Vladimir
You can easily shut Vlad down early. Be aware of the bar under his HP. When it is about to be full (When it turns orange->red) back off, let him Q a minion. It does bonus damage, and will hit like a truck early game if you get hit by it. His late game scaling is really strong, be mindful he can solo carry games when fed. But his lane phase is weak, and you should win.
Volibear
Voli's CC is really annoying. Avoid fighting him and farm when you can. He can easily run you down. Ask for ganks and take TP.
Wukong
One of Yasuo's biggest counters in my opinion. He can run you down level 2 and beyond. Ask for ganks, play defensive, farm under tower. His level 6 all in will be enough to kill you.
Xerath
Avoid stun, get in his face and just slap him. You win lane hard. DO NOT PLAY PASSIVE. Be as aggressive as you can without over extending. By being passive you are letting him win.
Xin Zhao
As funny as it is to hear, Xin Zhao mid can actually destroy Yasuo. Xin's level 2 all in is extremely strong, almost similar to how strong Pyke and Talon's are. Unless he builds crit/gets insanely fed, you out scale him. However he is the known as "the king of 1v1s" for a reason, so don't fight him if he has knockup off cooldown.
Yone
Skill matchup. His playstyle is very similar to yours. May the better swordsman and brother win I guess.
Yorick
Avoid being bonked by Yorick's Q and you should be fairly fine. Yorick's sustain and annoying poke w/ gouls is decently strong against Yasuo, however a good one should be able to win the lane. Be a bit more defensive in this lane than normal, but still be assertive.
Zed
Pure skill matchup. Dodge his Qs, fight him when he's got his W on cooldown. Avoid fighting him at lvl 6 if you're half HP or lower. Be aggressive on him, and constantly harass him with your Qs and E+Qs .
Ziggs
He's just a poke mage. He can easily shut Yasuo down if played correctly. Avoid being hit by the bouncing bomb (Q) and be aggressive and you should be fine. Take fleet if you feel uncomfortable fighting him.
Zilean
Zilean mid can actually be brutal to fight. Avoid his bombs, and you should be fine.
Zoe
Avoid being bubbled and slapped with Q and you should win lane just fine. Her damage potential is insane though, so do NOT underestimate her.
Zyra
Pretty annoying lane. Similar to Morgana and Ziggs, she's a big poke mage. Avoid getting hit by her root, and kill her plants when you can. I suggest taking fleet into this matchup. Be defensive, but when her abilities are on cooldown be extremely aggressive.
Aatrox
Knockup
Alistar
Knockup+Stun+Slow
Amumu
CC
Azir
Knockup
Blitzcrank
CC
Cho'Gath
Knockup
Gragas
Knockup
Malphite
Knockup. Legendary combo
Nautilus
Amazing support for Yasuo
Ornn
Ornn R is really good.
Pyke
Really good support for Yasuo, Knockup (on his Q)+stun
Qiyana
Knockup
Rakan
Knockup+CC
Rell
Really good CC for Yasuo
Riven
3 Knockups
Sejuani
Knockup, plus can tank for Yasuo
Sett
Knockup (on E)
Thresh
Thresh is just a good support in general. Knockup on E
Xin Zhao
Good damage into a knockup, allowing for an easy takedown with Yasuo
Zac
Knockups and can tank
Zyra
Great for poke, amazing for CC
Synergies
IdealStrongOkLowNone
Aatrox
Knockup
Alistar
Knockup+Stun+Slow
Amumu
CC
Azir
Knockup
Blitzcrank
CC
Cho'Gath
Knockup
Gragas
Knockup
Malphite
Knockup. Legendary combo
Nautilus
Amazing support for Yasuo
Ornn
Ornn R is really good.
Pyke
Really good support for Yasuo, Knockup (on his Q)+stun
Qiyana
Knockup
Rakan
Knockup+CC
Rell
Really good CC for Yasuo
Riven
3 Knockups
Sejuani
Knockup, plus can tank for Yasuo
Sett
Knockup (on E)
Thresh
Thresh is just a good support in general. Knockup on E
Xin Zhao
Good damage into a knockup, allowing for an easy takedown with Yasuo
You should play Yasuo for many reasons:
1. He's an absolutely amazing soloQ champ, who unlike many champs, has the potential
to carry entire games 1v9.
2. Yasuo's innate ability to tilt mages can surprisingly turn games very easily
3. High mobility, high damage, and extremely rewarding to play when mastered.
4. Surprisingly micro mechanics aren't nearly as difficult on Yasuo as many other
champs regarded as really hard to play (Such as Akali, Zed, Irelia etc.)
5. He's extremely fun
Mechanics
Yasuo has many different intricate mechanics that are fairly simple to understand once you know how they work.
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