Irelia vs Gnar
Top Lane MatchupIrelia vs Gnar TOP matchup tips: who wins, how to trade, wave control and common mistakes.
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Who Wins
- You lose early poke trades but can win all-ins from level 2 onwards if you land E and have minions to Q through.
- Post-6, you heavily favor the matchup as your R allows you to stick to Gnar through his kiting attempts and your sustained damage outscales his burst.
How to Trade
- Your best trading pattern involves stacking passive on minions, then using Q to gap-close followed by E-W-Q combo when he's in mini form.
- Against Mega Gnar, wait for him to waste abilities on waveclear, then engage with R to prevent his escape and stick to him through the transformation.
Wave Control
- You want to maintain minion waves in the center or slightly pushed toward you to have Q reset opportunities while preventing his free poke.
- Look to thin the wave rather than hard push, as this gives you more minions to work with for gap-closing while denying his freeze attempts.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Don't chase Gnar through unwarded areas without minions nearby, as you'll be kited to death without Q resets.
- Never engage Mega Gnar when he has full abilities and you're low on passive stacks - wait for his transformation to end or for him to waste his combo on waveclear.
Created on 02/19/2026
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