Top 7 Olaf Counters in Top Lane

Author:

Hailing from the mountains of Montenegro, Andrej Barovic is a passionate writer of all kinds. Though writing is his greatest passion, he thoroughly enjoys classical art, and any genre of music out there, and has an unhealthy obsession with video games.

Published on: April 5, 2023 | Updated on: September 10, 2023

League of Legends Champions are all unique and are designed from the ground up. Each of these designs appears to be self-contained, but Riot does look at how existing Champions and items work in favor, and against, said designs. This leads to every Champion having a particular meta build, but also an array of counter picks and items that are strong against them.

Olaf is one of the most popular picks in League of Legends right now. He used to be picked frequently in the Jungle, but has found a comfortable spot in the Top Lane, where he continuously dominates across all Elo levels. Of course, he’s not invulnerable, and he has many counters of his own.

This article will look at the top seven Olaf counters in the Top Lane. These Champions work well at containing him and preventing his snowball potential (which is massive and highly impactful).

Key takeaways:

An overview of what works well against Olaf.
A detailed look of each of his strongest counters.
The fundamentals of counterpicking.
…and a whole lot more!

Let’s go!

Table of Content
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7. Pantheon

Pantheon is the least effective Olaf counter on this list, winning against him in 50.5% of games. Pantheon is also a hot pick right now, as he is pretty powerful in most of his matchups, so seeing him here is no wonder. He can use his good range to steer clear of Olaf’s axes, and that E of his can block most of what Olaf can throw at him effectively.

When it comes down to 1v1 fights, Olaf might actually emerge victorious now and again, due to his R giving him total immunity to stuns on which Pantheon relies a lot. Nevertheless, without his Ultimate, Olaf is pretty much powerless against Pantheon and his endless pokes and long-range Qs.

We recommend Pantheon to most Top Laners starting out, and even those with experience. He’s good against most Champions, and if he can bring down Olaf, he can crush them all.

6. Camille

Camille is equal to Pantheon in terms of managing to curb Olaf’s onslaught, sitting also at 50.5% win rate against him. However, Camille’s statistic draws from a larger pool of games, making it a bit more true to life than the previous example. Camille’s insane mobility is the primary reason she is so effective against Olaf, as he can only do so much against her incessant wall hopping.

Camille also has a ton of true damage, unpredictable CC, slows, heals–you name it. She can dominate against Olaf easily until level 6, which is when the tide seems to switch a bit. Despite Olaf’s sudden stun-proof power spike, Camille still manages well. If she baits his Ultimate out, she is sure to win the trade and ultimately emerge as a total victor. Olaf strikes quickly, but not as heavily as Camille, who can rend through health bars like melting butter.

Camille is a popular Top Laner right now, though she is far beyond her peak. She manages well in most situations but we’d advise against picking her in ranked unless you know what you’re doing. Mechanically complex, Camille takes a lot of skill to master, so be sure to put in the effort.

5. Fiora

Fiora is likely the best Top Laner in League of Legends proper, as per the words of Nemesis (one of the best players in the world). Thus, it’s no strange thing to see her included as a good pick against any matchup, and especially so against Olaf. Fiora beats Olaf in 50.9% of games, which is a lot all things considered.

Fiora’s mobility, poking potential, sustainability, and everything else under the Runterran sun help her win over this barbarian. Olaf simply cannot fight against Fiora before hitting level 6, and even then it becomes a true struggle. By the time he does everything he needs to dish out the damage required, Fiora is probably backing with an extra 300 gold in her pocket. She’s too fast to contain, can deflect damage back at people, and has those insane Vital procs that allow her to basically one shot Champions even at lower levels.

Fiora is too strong currently, and has consistently been at the S+ tier on all sites for years. Riot did nerf her significantly, several times over, but nothing seems to be helping. Her kit is, by design, broken, and there’s nothing beyond a remake that can stop her from being strong in every matchup imaginable, Olaf included. So, go play her, get that extra LP while you still can.

4. Jax

Jax’s effectiveness against Olaf is quite a jump from previous examples. He wins against Olaf in 51.5% of games, drawn from a pool of 5000 matches. Jax was recently given a soft rework which changed how his Ultimate and E function. His Ultimate ability was especially changed and significantly buffed. As a result, Jax is now one of the strongest Champions in League of Legends proper (as if he wasn’t strong enough before).

Jax beats Olaf in the early game, he beats him in the mid game, he beats him in the late game. There is no way for Olaf to beat Jax in a head to head fight, and there are several reasons for this. First, Jax’s mobility far outpaces Olaf’s. He attacks faster, has his low cooldown Q jump, and has auto-attack resets.

Secondly, Jax has that insane E that allows him to dodge all basic attacks, which are Olaf’s primary source of damage. He relies on them to reduce his E’s cooldown, and he doesn’t have much else under his belt for effective DPS.

Lastly, Jax has his Ultimate which deals a ton of damage, gives him a ton of extra Armor, and gives him that third-hit bonus on his attacks. When activated, this bonus is applied on every second attack, making him capable of dishing out even more damage than before.

All in all, Jax is one of the most effective Champions against Olaf ever. Not only that, he is among the best anti-basic attack Champions out there. If your Champion relies too much on their basic attacks, Jax is there to counter them, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Well, you can pick Jax. That seems to work.

Also read: Best 1v1 Champions in League of Legends

3. Vayne

When ranged Top Laners are mentioned, there really isn’t much there to be discussed. But it wouldn’t be an article if we didn’t go into details about everything, ranged Top Laners included. Therefore, let’s look at Vayne, who seems to appear in every best counters list imaginable. She wins against Olaf in 51.8% of matches, though she is rarely picked which may botch actual percentages.

Vayne, and especially recently, counters Olaf on the sole basis she is a ranged Champion. She also has high base damage, a true damage passive, and mobility out of this world. She can consistently harass Olaf during the Laning Phase, and even after he has leveled up his Ultimate ability. There’s nothing his Ultimate can do against Vayne, as she isn’t reliant on CC, and that makes his R nearly useless. Apart from giving him some damage and movement speed (which isn’t enough to catch up with Vayne’s Q and R) there’s not much to it.

Vayne is a fantastic Champion both on Top and Bot. In the Top Lane, she has recently re-entered the meta with a Flash-Ghost combination that is genuinely overpowered. It’s super easy to play her in Top against all existing Champions, but people will hate you for it. Do it anyway, it’s an easy path to climbing.

2. Akshan

This case is nearly identical to Vayne, only slightly worse since Akshan is the most broken Champion in League. We’d go as far as calling him a trash Champion, though we wouldn’t want to offend any Akshan mains out there. Just know that he isn’t a loveable Champion in the Top Lane. The author of this article can attest.

To no one’s surprise, Akshan beats Olaf in 53% of matches which I am sure is actually 100% but everything in this game is designed to gravitate towards 50% so it is what it is. Akshan’s obscene mobility, high damage, incredible damage potential, and a whole lot more allow him to dominate over Olaf consistently and easily.

Olaf cannot offer much resistance to Akshan’s endless barrage of doubled attacks, constant poking and effective zoning. In most matchups, Olaf will be left with an XP and Gold gap, which ultimately impacts the outcome of the match. Akshan is an insane Champion that Riot simply threw into the game probably by accident. We honestly believe that he never should have been released, and we hope for a rework down the line.

Our hopes are probably futile.

1. Kled

Now here’s a name you don’t hear often in most divisions. Kled dominates over Olaf with a whopping 54% win rate. Kled is an S+ tier Champion that is fantastic in most matchups, but going head to head with Olaf seems to be his cup of tea. Using his innate tankiness, high burst damage potential, and mobility, Kled can harass Olaf into submission easily.

Olaf’s lack of mobility is what ultimately loses him this matchup. Before level 6, Olaf is prone to being pulled in, poked, effectively 1v1’d, etc. But even after he gets his Ultimate, it won’t help much against Kled who can run away from it and just come back once it’s over. His movement and attack speeds are both brutally strong, and help Kled establish his dominance on the Lane.

Out of the Laning Phase, Kled is undoubtedly the more effective of the two. He can have a much larger impact on the game and can utilize his abilities to help his team win with ease. Olaf, on the other hand, is a standard carry without much utility in his kit. He relies on that steep snowball that helps him be a true Bruiser. Kled, on the other hand, is quite different.

Conclusion

League of Legends has nearly two hundred Champions in its roster. Each of these Champions either complements or counters the other, and there’s no three ways about it. Olaf is among the most popular picks right now. The Champions above manage to contain, or even outright beat him in the Lane, so we recommend checking them out if you’re ever faced against Olaf in the Top Lane.