Pantheon vs Illaoi TOP Matchup Guide | LaneStomp

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Pantheon vs Illaoi

Updated Jun 3, 2026

Overview

Use Pantheon's early lane bully tools to pressure Illaoi and deny her calm scaling in a high lane pressure matchup.
Focus on snowballing through empowered trades and roaming after level 6 to leverage Pantheon's early agency and map impact.

Trading pattern

Initiate trades by stunning with (W), follow up with empowered (Q) for burst, and use (E) to block Illaoi's main counter damage.
Punish Illaoi when her (E) spirit pull misses or when tentacles are cleared to force short trades.
Avoid using (W) into bad wave states where Illaoi can capitalize on your predictable engage.

Danger windows

Respect (E) landing near tentacles as it can lead to strong all-ins.
Avoid fighting inside Illaoi's tentacle zones especially when her (R) is available.
Be cautious after using (W) or (E) as your engage becomes predictable and you lose key defensive tools.

Early game

Aggressively trade at level 2-3 using empowered (Q), (W) stun, and (E) block to build an early health lead.
Avoid extended fights when (E) is down to prevent Illaoi's retaliation damage.
Crash waves after winning trades to create roam opportunities with (R).

Power spikes

Level 2-3: Use empowered (Q), (W), and (E) to force lane control and build a lead before Illaoi stabilizes.
Level 6: Crash waves and roam with (R) to impact other lanes and prevent Illaoi from safely scaling.
Respect Illaoi's level 6 (R) all-in potential when she has tentacles established and multiple enemies commit.

Win conditions

Use early empowered trades and (W) stun to deny Illaoi wave control and scaling.
Crash waves aggressively before level 6 to create roam pressure with (R) and snowball other lanes.
Punish Illaoi's missed (E) and cleared tentacles with quick burst trades and reset lane state to maintain dominance.