How to play the Akali matchup?

The following tips and strategies have been shared by players to help you win against Akali.

How to lane against Akali?

The following tips and strategies have been shared by players to help you win against Akali.

Akali Matchups Spreadsheet

Matchup	Difficulty	Win Rate	Games Played	Early	Mid	Late	Tips
Aatrox	7	50.85%	3,607	Lose	Skill	Lose	You don't have kill threat until level 6. Recommend Teleport/Ignite for this lane since flash won't do much for you here. You can R his Q, you can E his Q, you can kite him out around your shroud but you won't be doing much damage without stacking up conqueror. Its recommended to set up the wave to be close to your tower and look for all-ins on Aatrox around there
Ahri		48.99%	3,919
Akshan	6	49.47%	1,029	Skill	Skill	Win	Akshan is a pure lane bully with extreme kill threat on you pre-6. Give up minions if you have to and don't eat poke. Watch out primarily for Akshan's double auto + Q where he'll proc his passive, stand behind your minions to bait Akshan to Q through the minions to hit you thereby pushing the wave towards you to safely farm. You can look to short trade if you dodge Akshan's Q and use W before Akshan can get his passive autos off but make sure you are able to escape after. You have kill pressure on Akshan post 6. Recommend Teleport Ignite to survive the early game
Anivia		50.14%	728
Annie		46.8%	594
Azir		53.77%	1,075
Camille	4	50.86%	1,272	Skill	Skill	Lose	Skill matchup, Camille will try to poke you with W in lane. You need to either bait it out by hovering in and out of its range OR you can walk through it into Camille to win trades. Also versus Camille, you need to watch out for her hookshot. You can outplay it by predicting where she's going to appear and E towards it, thereby dodging her stun and landing your E. Akali Shroud directly counters Camille's ultimate when she tries to all-in. But also be aware Camille can use her ultimate to block the damage of Akali's R2, so you want to wait an extra second or two to bait out Camille's ultimate before bursting her with R2.
Cassiopeia	5	52.97%	455	Skill	Skill	Lose	This matchup is all about your movements pre-6. You need to hover into Cass's Q range and sidestep it. Most Cass players will just Q behind you so if you mind game them and sometimes go forward towards them where you can actually trade onto them, you can can turn it around. Post 6, you want to usually engage by using R > passive auto > Q > back up. After this Cass players will usually ult you, and you will need to sidestep it looking backwards. If you dodge the R, you win. Since Cass is immobile you should be able to snowball from here
Corki		50.86%	1,217
Darius	8	50.54%	2,388	Lose	Skill	Skill	Never get frozen on. Take short trades with your q and space his q if he tries to take back. Level 6, get him to 60% health and all in with ult. Use your shroud to avoid him getting free auto attacks on you. His 1100 gold spike with boots is stronger than yours.
Dr. Mundo	3			Win	Skill	Skill	Easy matchup, continously short trade him right from level 1 on repeat with Q > passive auto procs. Use your minions to block his Q and E harass and utilize nice side steps. Level 6 you can pretty easily win all-in with ignite.
Ekko		50.21%	1,428
Fiora	4	51.68%	1,372	Skill	Skill	Lose	Always be wary of the parry. She'll usually use it against Akali E2 or R2. Play this matchup slowly and methodically. Don't blindly try to snipe Fiora with your E instead wait for Fiora to try to Q into you through your minion wave to punish for good trades. Play for short trades early with Q > passive auto after Fiora burns Q on your vitals or the minions. Disengage out if she opens with her ult when you are both full health or shroud. Find ways to bait out the Fiora's parry before you commit
Fizz		54.02%	833
Galio		48.51%	2,245
Gangplank	8	51.73%	1,614	Skill	Skill	Lose	Take teleport ignite here. Ward the closest bush so he can't cheese you. Level 1 you want to trade fairly aggressively with Q passive autos but don't give Gangplank an all-in where he can utilize his passive.
Garen	3	52.49%	1,928	Skill	Lose	Lose	Easy lane as long as you don't waste your E, you should win lanes. Only use your E when Garen Q's next to you. When Garen Q's towards you, do not use your Q locking yourself in the animation for .5 seconds, instead pretend to run up to him to use Q but instead use your E and then wait for his Q timer to run out, then fly into him and hit him with your combo. You should not be getting hit by free Garen Q's in this lane.
Gnar	4	49.65%	1,444	Skill	Win	Win	Gnar is weak early game bully him whenever he tries to CS with Q passive autos. Respect Mega-Gnar and when he's about to transform you won't beat him unless you dodge all of his spells. Post 6 make sure you ult passive auto E after you ult so you can stick onto Gnar when he uses his hop over you. You will hard outscale gnar after 2 items.
Gragas	5	51.65%	1,276	Skill	Skill	Skill	Heavy skill matchup, heavily trade with him early game with Q passive autos. After 3 only short trade when you have E up. use E to follow gragas through his E/R. Don't disrepect Gragas W and post 6, you will always have lethal kill threath but he can always outplay it. Really important to land your E in this matchup without eating Gragas E or poke for free. You need to focus on spacing/baiting out his abilities while trading and look for a chance to land your E.
Gwen	5	50.92%	2,333	Skill	Skill	Lose	You want to space Gwen Q very well at the outside range while continously poking her with your Q. Level 1 look to slow push while q poking and try to hit level 2 first. Continue to harass while spacing Gwen Q(keep track of how many stack she has, if she has 3-4 be cautious). If you get Gwen low enough, remember Gwen can use her circle of spell immunity to block Akali's E so you need to be unpredictable with it or use it with your R. For the most part this is a skill matchup where you space Gwen's Q while poking her down in short trades until you can all-in
Heimerdinger	3	49.6%	373	Lose	Skill	Lose	Take Flash Ignite and electrocute. Level 1 let Heimerdinger push and farm at tower. Level 2 onwards look to Q passive auto trade when heimer tries to harass you.
Illaoi	8	50.82%	612	Lose	Skill	Lose	This matchup is all about dodging illaoi's abilities especially the E. Take plenty of Q passive auto trades with her in the early game. Illaoi players like to cast E when you're about to last hit a minion and they'll E through the minion so be mindful of this and try to fake her out. If Illaoi lands her E, ALWAYS run away. Post 6, you obviously don't want to fight Illaoi in her R, short trade her and poke her to at least 60 percent hp then you can all-in when you know you can burst her.
Irelia	5	50.3%	1,680	Lose	Skill	Lose	Play for short trades near your tower, irelia wins extended fights. Fight her when she has no stacks. Use your shroud defensively when she tries to engage onto you to deny autos and wait out her marks if you are hit by E or R. If you use your E whenever Irelia Q's on you, you're guaranteed to land your E since your hitbox starts behind yourself
Jax	6	51.02%	1,613	Skill	Skill	Lose	Jax usually starts E level 1, they're gonna try to dodge your passive proc.Its best to wait till level 3 to interact with him, you can safely use your E when he jumps on you. Level 6 is when you really win this lane because you can really abuse your shroud versus an all-melee champion. Be careful of him landing his stun when you commit on him and he dodges your passive procs and autos, you're giving him a chance to win the lane.
Jayce	7	51.39%	2,693	Skill	Skill	Win	Do your best not to take poke in the early game by his ranged form, don't try to engage, he will just switch to melee form and get a better trade on you. Let Jayce push in early but do not let him crash into tower where he'll likely create a slow push into freeze. Do your best to think the wave and keeip it on your side.
Kassadin		51.2%	668
Katarina		49.96%	2,326
Kayle	3	49.8%	1,251	Win	Skill	Lose	Perma trade with her before first item. You need to create a lead before she gets wit's end because the magic resist she gets allows her to start fighting back. Spam q and passive procs until she is forced out of lane. Trade ults with her at 6 since yours is on a lower cooldown.
Kennen	8	49.36%	855	Skill	Skill	Skill	Difficult lane bully, depends a lot on kennen's skill. Pre-6, you should look to play safe, you only have kill pressure if you get him to 50 percent hp somehow. Even if you land your E on him, good kennen players can instantly use their combo to stun you while you're still flying and auto you for free. Just play it safe get to 6, and then 1 shot kennen depending on his item setup. If you know you're gonna get stunned, e prior so you can e follow up after.
Kled	8	52.89%	433	Lose	Skill	Win	A known Akali counter, Kled's Q reveals you in shroud and pulls you into him, he has the mobility to follow you with E. You really need to play to not die pre 6 which is easier said than done. Focus on dodging the Kled Q or baiting it out if possible. Use teleport to deal with his early game harassment. Post 6, you have more counterplay and you can look to bait out his Q and then chunk him to half hp, wait for your CD's then go for the all-in
Leblanc		51.27%	1,804
Lissandra		47.94%	1,287
Lucian	5	50.21%	4,445	Lose	Skill	Skill
Malphite	4	52.11%	1,374	Win	Skill	Win	This matchup is easy post level 4, he wont be able to match you in trades. Outsustain his poke with Doran shield second wind and make Malphite run out of mana if he's using arcane comet Q spam. Post 6, you really just want to get the wave near your turret and set up a freeze where you can run down malphite.
Malzahar		49.74%	1,524
Maokai	2	48.32%	565	Win	Skill	Win	Play extremely aggressive early game with Q passive auto trades. Mainly watch out for saplings he throughs in the bush, if he lands those on you you'll get outtraded. Use your E after Maokai uses W before he Q follows up so you can trade back. Be careful when aiming your Q after Maokai uses W. Do not blindly walk into bushes and respect Maokai saplings.Once he gets unkillable, play to roam
Mordekaiser	5	50.8%	1,628	Skill	Skill	Lose	You can only kill him post 6 but this should be an easy lane to survive in. Stay outside of his spell range or use yours to farm after he uses his. The worst case scenario is you run away from your minions and Mordekaiser lands an isolated Q on you for double damage. Only ever do Q auto short trades in the early game and never fight Mordekaiser in extended trades where he procs his passive OR when his W is charged. As you hit level 6, make sure you keep the wave on your side of the lane and short trade him to around 70 percent hp then all-in him.
Nasus	4	50.06%	823	Win	Lose	Lose	Pressure him early. You have to get a lead pre six preferably before first back. Try to maximize your damage output against him with your Q E and passive autos so he cannot outsustain your damage with Doran's Shield and Second Wind.
Neeko	5	50.65%	693	Skill	Skill	Win	You can take Fleet, Doran's Shield, and Second wind to play for sustain in this lane. Be careful of her turning into a minion post six and surpising you.
Olaf	5	53.62%	442	Lose	Skill	Lose	Play short trades and disengage against him. If he gets on you, he shreds you. Use your shroud defensively when he engages onto you. Try to look for Q trades when he is farming and especially when he throws an axe too far from himself.
Orianna		51.65%	1,818
Ornn	2	50.4%	1,125	Win	Skill	Win	Stand away from his pillars and walls to avoid his knockup. Try to bait out his W and look for short trades. Once he starts getting items he is pretty much unkillable but he also lacks a lot of kill threat on you. Be careful of his triple brittle combo.
Pantheon	7	48.99%	990	Lose	Win	Skill	Take fleet, DShield, and Second wind to survive his poke in lane. His Q can hit you while you are in shroud. Hard respect his early game and play for six. You hard win with ult and can look to force fights whenever you have it up. Try to bait out his E before all-ining.
Poppy	7	48.25%	885	Skill	Lose	Win	Her W can stop your E, R1, and R2. Play away from walls so she cannot stun you against them. Your Q outranges her Q range but be careful going in for passive autos since she can look to Q you then.
Qiyana		46.82%	880
Quinn	8	48.14%	619	Skill	Win	Win	Take fleet, DShield, and Second wind to survive her poke in lane. Not as opressive as pantheon, but you still have to give her some respect. Force fights with ult and avoid getting poked out of lane.
Renekton	8	49.45%	1,630	Lose	Skill	Win	Use shroud defensively and avoid hard trading early. E back when he E1s E2s in. Try to use shroud before he stuns you. Your Q outranges his so look to Q him whenever he goes to farm.
Rengar	8	51.19%	758	Lose	Skill	Win	Play safe and hard respect him. Play away from bushes so he cannot jump onto you. Avoid warding the bush if he has sweepers and you plan to fight him since he can use the ward to dash around. You outscale with items so just play safe and farm up.
Riven	8	48.29%	1,580	Lose	Skill	Skill	Relatively Easy to kill as Riven, do not get in range of Riven to EW on you when she's close. Keep your distance and if she commits with her E and Q, use your E to dash away from her. if Riven is about to get Q3, press W and she can't follow up her combo, and you can trade back. You need to play different and mix up your combos since Riven has a lot of instant dashes. for instance when you R1, its advisable to just go for a passive proc and hold your E reactionary until you see how Riven dashes
Rumble	9	51.97%	862	Lose	Skill	Skill	His entire kit goes through your shroud. Try to trade with him when his Q is down, when he is low heat, or when he has so much heat he can only use 1 or 2 abilities. You can go toe to toe trading wise but its not reccomended since you arguably outscale him.
Ryze	5	49.15%	999	Skill	Skill	Lose	Try to hard pressure him around six. You can take a defensive starting setup to ensure you get to that point without getting poked out of lane. His E Q can hit you even when you are in your shroud.
Sett	7	49.48%	2,023	Lose	Skill	Lose	Play very safe until 6 and focus on surviving. When Sett walks up to you with Q > E, you need to E away from it or shroud if you can't or else you will get chunked. Once you are 6, you have the mobility to dodge out his W and abuse your shroud vs his melee auto attacks hitting him with poke and rinse and repeat off of your shroud CD. If you ever see Sett waste his E/W on the wave, you can immidiently look to kill post 6 or trade pre 6
Shen	2	48.41%	849	Win	Win	Win	You win early game and outscale. Try not to hard trade levels 1-3. Avoid puting yourself in between him and his sword so he cannot get Qs off for free. When he ults, shove the wave in and get plates or look to counter with teleport.
Shyvana		51.15%	436
Singed	3	47.48%	1,093	Win	Skill	Skill	Don't let him proxy you. Walk with your wave level 1 so he cannot shove it and look to proxy. Try to pressure him early and Q him when he walks up.
Sion	2	50.6%	1,498	Win	Skill	Lose	Pressure him early. He outscales you with items. You can use your E or W movement speed to get out of his Q. Its reccomended you use your W more offensively in this lane so you can get energy back and spam even more Qs on him with Conqueror.
Swain	4	56.05%	694	Win	Skill	Skill
Sylas	5	50.31%	4,693	Skill	Skill	Skill	Skill matchup. E when he Es and Q him when he goes to farm. Avoid getting in his W range when you are not hiting him. Rushing anti-heal is viable into him.
Syndra		51.09%	1,975
Tahm Kench	4			Lose	Lose	Lose	Play to short trade and avoid extended trades, you need good strafing movements side to side to dodge Tahm Q, if Tahm ever gets 2 stacks on you, you should be kiting him with W or E. Play safe when W and E are down and you should be golden
Talon		49.89%	1,327
Teemo	5	50.49%	1,012	Skill	Win	Win	Doran's Shield and Second wind is great into him. His blind can stop your passive autos from going off. The main thing to watch out for is to avoid taking free auto damage from him. Try to trade back or avoid stepping into his range entirely if not to trade or farm minions.
Trundle		54.98%	502
Tryndamere	2	54.83%	901	Skill	Lose	Lose	Try to fight him when he has no rage up. Use your E, W, and R to disengage and kite him. Don't walk up to him when he has rage and you don't have cooldowns up.
Urgot	7	43.52%	1,073	Skill	Skill	Lose	Ward the bush near you when you get to lane to make sure he is not chessing you level 1. Make sure he can never get behind you and force trades with his E. When he walks up Q him and back out with the movement speed. E when he Es. Be careful of his flash E engage especially if he is Eing out of range.
Vayne	5	50.1%	1,990	Skill	Skill	Lose	Levels 1-3, you play extremely safe and let her push, you don't want to take any poke damage so that you can all-in her later. Use shroud near your minions to force vayne to auto another minion and reset W stacks. Post 6, be aware when you ult Vayne will likely respond with immidiate condemn. The answer to this is to Throw your E right as you R so you can recast it to stick on her. Also if you know you're about to get stunned into a wall, buffer your shroud ahead of time so you'll be stunned in your shroud
Veigar		50.68%	736
Velkoz		55.05%	961
Vex		48.2%	942
Viktor		53.03%	2,710
Vladimir	5	49.94%	1,540	Win	Skill	Lose	Wave management is critical here, you want vladimir to push you into tower right from level 1(you have to be mindful with your Q placement, you still want to Q passive auto trade him), use a long lane to really pummel Vladimir down and freeze in front of your tower. NEVER let him use empowered Q's for free be mindful of his bar and the movement speed it gives him.
Volibear	3	54.15%	1,132	Skill	Skill	Win	Use your shroud to cancel Voli's 2nd W, make sure you dodge Voli's E and you will chunk the majority of his damage. Play for short trades with passive auto trades.
Warwick	6	52.66%	940	Lose	Skill	Win	Rush oblivion orb for anti-healing. You want to avoid warwicks fear using your shroud and play to q passive auto trade him early. Use your E whenever Warwick is about to Q onto you to guarnatee landing it. And remember the key to winning post 6 is not getting hit by Warwick R or he will full heal and turn the fight. Do not fight him when you are low and do not get baited into bad fights especially if warwick has barrier
Wukong	3	49.57%	1,277	Skill	Skill	Win	Level 1 play very safe(don't let him E onto you and run you down), Level 2 onwards, if Wukong uses E, use your E and passive auto then recast. When you have passive auto up when Wukong uses clone, press S and wait for him to reappear before consuming your mark.
Xerath		51.72%	903
Yasuo	4	49.39%	3,788	Skill	Skill	Skill	In general, you want to play for short trades early game while Yasuo wins extended trades. If you ever see Yasuo use Q to CS, you should go for punish with Q passive auto. To prevent Yasuo from being slippery, use your E when he uses E on you, then passive auto him. When Yasuo E's away, recast your E to stick onto him. Keep in mind you can sidestep his Q's when in melee range and it will make or break the 1v1's. Post 6, you should be able to burst Yasuo down but watch out for windwall.
Yone	5	55.97%	3,332	Skill	Skill	Lose	Easy matchup since Yone tornado Q telegraphs his location making it simple to land your E on him. Yone W you can wait out with shroud or space it. Your E just counters Yone Q making it easy. Do not get caught out without your shroud or E up. Yone's only chance to beat you is when you don't have spells or energy up. Even with just your Q you can slow him down.
Yorick	8	48.81%	840	Skill	Skill	Lose	Abuse your shroud to prevent Yorick from getting autos or Q's on you, play to short trade him and be very watchful for Yorick E and ghouls, use your shroud if he does land his E right away to not get chunked. Don't waste your E or play safe when its down because the cage will be lethal if he lands it. If yorick misses E he loses a big chunk of his early game damage
Zed		52.02%	3,347
Ziggs		51.15%	477
Zilean		50.86%	926
Zoe		50.76%	916