Gnar, League of Legends champion
Win Rate
50.1%
Pick Rate
1.4%
Ban Rate
0.7%

Gnar Top Counters & Lane Matchups

Gnar B TierFighterTank
Patch
26.19
Games
1,306
Lane
Top
Tier
All Tiers
Last Updated
Oct 5, 2026 UTC
Methodology
Data Methodology

Every Top lane opponent Gnar faced in Patch 26.19, ranked: Malphite (58.1% win rate against Gnar) and Jax (58.2%) are the hardest. See gold, CS and XP at 15 for all 39 matchups, find the best counter from your own champion pool, and learn how to play against Gnar.

Hardest counter
Malphitewins 58.1%
Next hardest
Jaxwins 58.2%
Biggest lane bully
Irelia+1,399 gold at 15
Easiest matchup
Volibearyou win 54.7%
Top lanes won at 15
51.5%

Who Counters Gnar Top (Patch 26.19)

39 lane opponents · 2,582 games

The hardest Top matchups for Gnar are Malphite (58.1% win rate against Gnar), Jax (58.2%) and Cho'Gath (59.1%). Irelia is the biggest lane bully, finishing 15 minutes 1,399 gold ahead of Gnar on average. Across the 39 matchups with lane data, Gnar is clearly ahead in gold at 15 against 6 and clearly behind against 4. The easiest lane is Volibear: Gnar wins 54.7%.

OpponentTheir win rateGold @15CS @15XP @15VerdictGames
Yasuo66.0%+540+13.0+325CounterWins lane53
Camille66.7%+16−4.4−115Counter42
Malphite58.1%+99−5.8+466Counter160
Singed66.7%−372+4.6−697Leans their way33
Jax58.2%−19−9.1−200Leans their way98
Cho'Gath59.1%−335−8.2−271Leans their way66
Garen54.3%−292−9.7−298Leans their way116
Sett52.9%−422−14.3−570Leans their wayLoses lane155
Teemo53.5%−47−1.0−244Leans their way114
Yone53.6%+56+3.5−154Leans their way110
Irelia55.7%+1,399+32.7+816Leans their wayWins lane70
Yorick54.7%+326+11.0+239Leans their way75
Olaf57.5%−16−5.6−348Leans their way40
Aatrox52.7%+65+4.2+151Leans their way74
Urgot52.9%+54−3.8−102Leans their way70
Nasus51.2%−398−11.0−119Loses lane86
Shen54.0%−1,025−32.0−804Leans their wayLoses lane50
Darius49.2%−94−3.9−259Even118
Mordekaiser48.4%+12−4.0+157Even126
Renekton50.0%+319+1.7+372Even70
Heimerdinger54.1%+472+15.3+385Leans their way37
Riven54.3%+134−4.0−38Leans their way35
Gangplank50.0%+281+0.0−135Even64
Zaahen52.8%−326−13.6−319Leans their way36
Fiora49.2%−151−3.2−452Even59
Kayle50.0%−1,289−18.4−1,142Loses lane38
Dr. Mundo48.0%−262−6.4−199Leans your way50
Illaoi45.7%+443+12.3+356Leans your wayWins lane70
Volibear45.3%−574−16.6−830Leans your wayLoses lane75
Tahm Kench42.9%+438−0.2+795Leans your wayWins lane49
Akali42.9%+4+2.2−40Leans your way35
Ornn40.4%−477−15.0−264Leans your wayLoses lane47
Gwen42.4%−387−9.6−701Leans your way33
Trundle41.7%−160−4.3−412Leans your way36
Jayce39.5%−99+4.4−341Leans your way43
Ambessa40.0%+301−1.9+574Leans your way30
Pantheon36.2%−252−13.6−333Leans your way47
Tryndamere36.6%−328−4.5−512Leans your way41
K'Sante25.8%−278−11.1−277Favorable31

Ranked solo and flex games where both champions played the same lane this patch. Win rate shown is the OPPONENT's. Lists rank by the 95% range of each win rate, so a handful of games cannot top the list; gold, CS and XP are the opponent's lead at 15:00.

Gnar Counter Pick Finder

Find your counter

Pick the champions you play to rank them against Gnar. With nothing picked, the strongest counters overall are shown.

Strongest picks vs Gnar
PickWin rate vs GnarGold @15Games
1. Yasuo66.0%+54053
2. Camille66.7%+1642
3. Malphite58.1%+99160
4. Singed66.7%−37233
5. Jax58.2%−1998

Gnar Lane Gold at 15 Minutes

Gnar's gold lead or deficit at 15:00 against the twelve most common Top opponents. Right of the line, Gnar is ahead; left, the opponent is.

When facing Gnar in League of Legends, understanding Gnar's primary damage profile is essential for building effective counter strategies. Gnar deals primarily physical damage, which means prioritizing armor in your defensive itemization will significantly reduce Gnar's threat in fights. Top defensive items against Gnar include Plated Steelcaps, Frozen Heart, Randuin's Omen, and Thornmail. These items provide substantial armor stats that directly mitigate Gnar's damage output throughout all stages of the game.

From a champion selection perspective, the strongest Gnar counters are Malphite, Jax, Cho'Gath, and Garen. These champions either out-trade Gnar in lane, have abilities that negate Gnar's core mechanics, or scale better into team fights. Malphite in particular exploits Gnar's weaknesses by providing consistent pressure while being difficult to punish.

Beyond item builds and counter picks, successful counter play against Gnar involves understanding Gnar's power spikes and cooldown windows. Engage on Gnar when key abilities are on cooldown, and coordinate with your team to focus Gnar in team fights before Gnar can output maximum damage. Vision control is also crucial when playing against Gnar to avoid getting caught out of position. By combining proper defensive itemization with smart champion selection and strategic gameplay, you can effectively neutralize Gnar's impact and secure victory.

When to Counter Gnar - Game Phase Strategy

EARLYEarly Game (Levels 1-6)

Gnar may look for extended trades. Avoid long fights and kite with slows. Short trades favor you against sustained damage.

MIDMid Game (Levels 7-13)

Gnar becomes increasingly tanky mid game. Focus on kiting and percent health damage. Avoid fighting in choke points.

LATELate Game (Levels 14-18)

Gnar is very durable late game. Use armor penetration or anti-tank items. Focus squishier targets first if Gnar is too tanky.

Tips for Playing Against Gnar

  • Pick Malphite or similar champions with kits that exploit Gnar's weaknesses
  • Build Plated Steelcaps or Seeker's Armguard early to reduce Gnar's damage in lane
  • Track Gnar's cooldowns and engage when key abilities are unavailable
  • Ward Gnar's common roam paths and ping missing immediately
  • Coordinate with your jungler to gank Gnar during vulnerable windows
  • Avoid extended trades where Gnar can stack sustained damage
  • Kite Gnar with slows and crowd control

Riot's tips for playing against Gnar

  • Gnar can't gain Rage for 15 seconds after he turns from big to little. Use this chance to engage on his team.
  • Gnar's animations and resource bar change as he gets closer to transforming.
  • Gnar's ultimate stuns if he hits you into a wall. Be careful when fighting him near one.
MetaBot Desktop

Plan your Gnar draft in Draft Lab

Draft Lab lays out both teams lane by lane with live matchup win rates, damage profiles and game-phase lean, and suggests picks and bans from current meta data.

  • Full 5v5 draft board
  • Lane matchup win rates
  • Pick and ban suggestions
Draft Lab in MetaBot Desktop

What Gnar Is Good Against

The Top opponents Gnar beats most reliably this patch — the picks to look for when Gnar is your champion.

OpponentTheir win rateGold @15CS @15XP @15VerdictGames
Volibear45.3%−574−16.6−830Leans your wayLoses lane75
Mordekaiser48.4%+12−4.0+157Even126
Illaoi45.7%+443+12.3+356Leans your wayWins lane70
Darius49.2%−94−3.9−259Even118
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Gnar Counters FAQ - Patch 26.19

Who counters Gnar?

In the Top lane this patch, the strongest counters to Gnar are Malphite (58.1% over 160 games), Jax (58.2% over 98 games), Cho'Gath (59.1% over 66 games), Garen (54.3% over 116 games), Sett (52.9% over 155 games).

What is Gnar's hardest matchup?

Malphite. Gnar wins only 41.9% of 160 lane games against Malphite and sits at −99 gold at 15 minutes.

What is Gnar good against?

Gnar's best Top matchups this patch are Volibear (54.7%), Mordekaiser (51.6%), Illaoi (54.3%), Darius (50.8%).

Who beats Gnar in lane?

Measured by gold at 15 minutes, Gnar's toughest lanes are Irelia (+1,399 gold ahead), Yasuo (+540 gold ahead), Illaoi (+443 gold ahead).

Is Gnar a lane bully?

Not really. Gnar Top finishes 15 minutes within 40 gold of the lane opponent on average and is ahead in 52% of games.