Best Yasuo counters in LoL

LoL Esports

March 21, 2024

Davide Xu

Yasuo is definitely one of the most annoying champions in League of Legends for a multitude of reasons. He brings a certain level of toxicity to the game, whether that be from the players who play him, or his annoying abilities that make you tilt. Nevertheless, we have the solution with five Yasuo counters that will send him packing.

Image Credits: Riot Games

Yasuo counters in LoL – the top five picks

I definitely have a love-hate relationship with Yasuo in League of Legends. I think lore wise, and visually, he is one of the better champions in the game. But the community does not get on with this champion, whether that be the toxic players that it brings, the low elo players that think they are the next Faker. Whatever it is, there is a negative stigma when it comes to Yasuo.

He may not be the star of the show anymore, but Yasuo will always have a place in League of Legends. The 0/10 powerspike exists for a reason, and when it comes to the late game, Yasyo still poses a threat. Let’s walk you through the five best champions that counter Yasuo in League of Legends.

Vladimir

He may not be the most flashy champion in League of Legends. But Vladimir is, at the moment, the best counter to Yasuo in League of Legends. Vladimir has amazing sustain, where he can permanently trade with Yasuo while healing up, a valuable ability to have in the mid lane. All the while, Yasuo’s passive shield can never be up because Vlad has the ability to take it away.

Vladimir can’t be killed by Yasuo, really, or at the very least, it’s extremely difficult to. Because of the sustain we talked about through his Q, but his W can pool away whenever Yasuo does able to get a knock up plus ultimate combo. It’s so difficult for Yasuo to do anything to Vladimir in this lane. Let’s take a look at how Vladimir should play this lane into Yasuo:

Your Q allows you to heal up, wait until the bar is red for maximum healing.
If he does engage, you can use your W to pool away. Make sure you don’t use it for wave clear, because he can engage with you if you don’t have W up.
You can easily use Q to remove his passive, this will make ganking him a lot easier.

Annie

Annie is definitely a champion who should have no problem dealing with Yasuo in League of Legends. Her quick burst abilities can one-shot him. Yasuo definitely won’t have the ability to control the lane like he would do in other matchups. To make matters worse, Annie’s Q is a targeted ability, which means that even if Yasuo tries to use Windwall on it, it will still damage him. So many Yasuo players get that wrong, because they’re then leaving themselves open for Annie to flash and ultimate in with Tibbers.

Yasuo really has to play scared in this matchup, because he can’t use his W to bail him out of dodge, he has to face the music when it comes to Annie. Let’s take a look at how you can play the lane as Annie into Yasuo in League of Legends:

You’ll be able to keep your mana high with your Q.
Remember that your Q can go through his W, don’t be scared to use it.
Keep flash up for when his W is down, because you can do a flash plus ultimate combo.

Malzahar

Malzahar is an old school counter to Yasuo in League of Legends, and even in 2025, he still counters him to this day. Malzahar’s abilities can suppress him, meaning he isn’t able to dash through minions, or put up his W. This allows Malzahar to permanently put out damage onto him. If you’re the Yasuo player, you’re definitely tilted when you play against him, because there’s nowhere for you to go. If you get silenced, he is going to ult you if you get too close, and he will always be able to push the wave in because of his minions; it’s a nightmare for Yasuo.

Malzahar’s spell shield is also a pain for Yasuo to deal with, because he won’t be able to use his ultimate on Malz until that is gone, but to even get to that stage he will have to lose a lot of health. Let’s take a look at how you can play the lane as Malzahar versus Yasuo:

Use your E as much can before level 6, he will still have some kill pressure before you have your ultimate.
You don’t need to get in range of him, otherwise, you will lose your spell shield.
If you’re going to shove with your E, make sure you have warded properly, otherwise the jungler can easily combine with Yasuo to setup his ultimate, even if your shield is up.
You have kill pressure with your ultimate, but you’ll need the jungler if you want to secure the kill.

Azir

Azir is one of those annoying champions that don’t appear often because he has a high skill ceiling, but when he is picked, he definitely counters Yasuo in the lane in League of Legends. Firstly, Azir’s soldiers do so much damage, even in the early game, they will be able to remove Yasuo’s passive with ease, and poke him out of the lane too. Even if Yasuo is able to dash around and get near you, your ultimate will push him away. If you are confident in your skills, you can scoop him back into your own tower for a kill.

Another fun fact about the ultimate is that, if Yasuo has ulted you, Azir’s R can actually stop the ultimate mid-flight! And by that point, it’s going to be really hard for Yasuo to kill you, he has used up all his abilities and like summs, and his passive shield is gone. Let’s look at how you can play the lane as Azir into Yasuo in League of Legends:

Yasuo isn’t able to block auto attacks, so definitely try to be aggressive with the soldiers wherever possible.
Because you have the soldiers, can you stand off Yasuo, because otherwise you will be in dash range.
Unless you have a kill angle, use your ultimate defensively for when Yasuo ults you.

Galio

Galio is my go-to pick when going up against Yasuo in League of Legends. He literally does everything you need to in order to stop Yasuo from having fun in the lane. If Yasuo even dares to challenge you, you have the ability to taunt him with your W. Or if you want to be even more fancy, you can use your E to interrupt what he wants to do!

Galio also has very good wave clear, so Yasuo will never be able to push up the lane because he will permanently be collecting waves from his tower. Let’s take a look at how you play the lane as Galio:

In the early levels, just use your Q, because you’ll want to avoid the early trades with him.
Combine your abilities when your passive is up, that will do extra damage that he can’t block.
If he dashes in, use your W for taunt, it will stop him in his tracks and allow you to back away.