While every player has their own opinions about which top champions are frustrating to play against, there are some in particular which manage to be hated by almost the entire player base. We’re talking about those top champions which seem to win purely by tilting you off the face of the Earth. The champions which turn the brightly colored Summoner’s Rift into an abyss of gray and dread, and which make you question why you didn’t queue dodge when you saw the enemy instalock them in champ select.

But playing against these tilt-inducing champions doesn’t have to leave your mouse hovering on the uninstall button. Despite how frustrating and unfair their kit may seem, there are ways to counter them and make them as useless as a minion. Today, we’ll be going over how to counter the most annoying top laners, so when you next have to lane against them you’ll be able to give them a taste of their own medicine.

Teemo, the Swift Scout

Ah, Teemo. Truly a "blessing" to the Summoner’s Rift. It’s as if Riot’s design team had a meeting on how to make the most frustrating champion ever, then stuffed all their ideas into a small Yordle with a nightmare-inducing giggle. What makes it worse is that they went out of their way to make Teemo visually utterly adorable – he is the embodiment of looks can be deceiving.

Laning against Teemo is downright excruciating. It feels like you can’t do anything but watch as he gradually chunks your health down with poisonous darts; if you try to fight back, you’re rendered useless by his lengthy blind. If you try to chase him down, he just zooms away with his movement speed while chanting “Hut, two, three, four.”

Oh, and let’s not forget the most fun aspect of all: his ability to turn Summoner’s Rift into a shroom minefield. There’s nothing more tilting than managing to survive a fight, only to step on a shroom straight after and die. Yeesh.

Teemo Counter Tips

Control Wards and Oracle's Lens are the best weapons against Teemo’s obtrusive shrooms. You should also stick to the path your minions take, as Teemo players tend to put shrooms in places where minions won’t set them off. Plus, even if Teemo does decide to place his shrooms in your minions’ path, your minions will be the ones to tank the blow, not you.

Speaking of pathing, avoid following Teemo’s exact path if you’re chasing him down – chances are, he’s leading you through several shroomfields!

Don’t push the wave against Teemo, let it push to you. It’s a lot harder for Teemo to harass you if you’re under your turret, since his poison will constantly attract the turret’s aggro.

Champions that counter Teemo include those with gap-closers like Pantheon. Teemo’s Move Quick ability has a long cool down, so if you see him use it engage on him with your gap-closer. Champions that don't rely on auto-attacks for their main source of damage also counter Teemo, since his blind only hinders auto-attacks.

If you’re in a losing matchup, start with Doran’s Shield. Doran’s Shield gives sustain and health regen, which will help to mitigate Teemo's poke throughout laning phase.

If Teemo uses his blind to farm a minion or harass you, go for a trade if you’re healthy enough; he's vulnerable without his blind, especially if his Move Quick is also on cooldown.

Tryndamere, the Barbarian King

Laning against Tryndamere is NEVER satisfying. He screams at your face, slows you, smacks you, and has an ultimate which gives him 5 seconds of (effective) invulnerability (why Rito?). And if he manages to outplay you early on – ahem, luckily lands a critical strike on you – he’s pretty much unstoppable for the rest of the game. A fed Tryndamere can half health you with one smack.

But, as any top main player will know from first-hand experience, the above is only half the reason why Tryndamere is appearing on this list. The other half being that even if you manage to thrash him in lane, he’s still going to be a nuisance. His split pushing power is insane, and he doesn’t care if he dies for the cause – he’ll keep pushing over and over until he’s wrecked every inhibitor. Truly, his Barbarian King title fits him perfectly.

Tryndamere Counter Tips

If Tryndamere is not in combat for 8 seconds his fury bar will go down, drastically reducing his critical strike chance and ability to heal. For this reason, the best strategy against Tryndamere is to zone him off his minions during laning phase, as this will stop him from increasing his fury bar.

If you’re not able to zone him off minions, play around his fury bar. If he has a full fury bar, don’t try and fight him head on. Focus on poking him out (or take short trades if you’re melee) instead to make him use Bloodlust (Q). Tryndamere has to consume his fury to heal from his Q, so once he uses it you can easily punish him.

Avoid staying under turret with low health once Tryndamere hits level 6. His Undying Rage (ultimate) allows him to turret dive you with ease.

If you have little to no experience of playing as Tryndamere, you might not be aware that his W, Mocking Shout, will only slow you if you have your back turned to him. As such, you should always try to quickly adjust your positioning and turn around just before he uses it.

As we mentioned above, Trydnamere is an extremely effective split-pusher. If he starts split-pushing, you and your allies will need to stop him early, either by fighting him 2v1 (never a 1v1!), or by forcing an engage on his team, since they’ll likely be vulnerable in teamfights without his presence.

Always wait to Ignite Tryndamere until just before his ultimate is about to end. Tryndamere will almost certainly try to heal back up with Bloodlust once his ultimate finishes, so by using Ignite then, you’ll cut this healing in half.

Darius, the Hand of Noxus

Darius is currently one of the most banned champions in League of Legends – and there’s… a good reason for that. He’s a snowballing bruiser designed to make laning phase hell; he has insane damage output, healing, empowered auto-attacks and a bleed passive which whittles down his opponent's health bar. Put simply, if you attempt a risky trade, or step forward to get those hard to reach minions, you’re pretty much handing him your life (and hard-earned LP) on a silver platter.

Even if you give up your minions, and don’t attempt to trade with him, Darius is still a threat and hassle to play against; thanks to his hook and slows, he has plenty of ways to chase you down and catch you out if you misplay. And to top it all off? His dunkin’ ultimate is terrifyingly powerful in team fights.

Darius Counter Tips

Avoid getting hit by the outer ring of Darius's Q, Decimate. If you get hit by the outer ring, it’ll heal him, deal greater damage to you and also apply a hemorrhage stack. If you see Darius positioning to Q you, back off, or path into the inner ring if you’re unable to retreat in time.

Due to Darius’s passive and overall sustain, the longer a trade is the greater chance he has of coming out on top. For this reason, refrain from extended trades, and instead stick to short ones.

Since Darius lacks mobility, he’s vulnerable to ganks, especially if he doesn’t have his summoner spells up. If you're hoping to shut Darius down for good, it’s crucial you set your lane up for ganks. For guidance on how to effectively entice your jungler to gank your lane, as well as how to ensure they have the best chance at success, check out our in-depth guide.

The best top laners to pick against Darius are ranged champions that have crowd control and/or mobility. These champions are able to harass Darius, kite out of his Q, and effectively disengage.

Quinn, Demacia's Wings

Quinn’s endless harass, blind, and ability to keep her enemies at bay makes her every melee top champion’s worst nightmare. If you’re up against a Quinn as a melee top laner, you know full well from the get-go that you’ll be missing minions, be poked out of lane constantly, and likely be levels behind by the time laning phase is over.

Of course, once she hits level 6, it only gets worse. While you have to stay in lane to make up for your lack of farming, Quinn is spending her time gliding across the map, picking up kills left, right, and center with her heavy burst, and naturally, making every single one of your allies tilted beyond belief.

Quinn Counter Tips

If you’re hoping to survive against Quinn’s harass early on, you need to give yourself as much sustain as possible; go for corrupting potion or Doran's Shield as your starting item, and take the “Second Wind” rune, which can be found under the Resolve Mastery Tree.

During laning phase, you should position behind your melee creeps. Not only will this make it harder for Quinn to land her Q skillshot, but it also means that if she does try to trade with you she’ll have to tank minion aggro. She’ll also have to position in a way which makes it obvious she wants to go for a trade, giving you a better chance at dodging her skillshot and playing around her.

If you're in a losing matchup, it's typically best to go for Plated Steelcaps. Steelcaps will give a permanent reduction on Quinn’s damage, which will seriously help to mitigate her poke, and ultimately prevent her from pushing you out of lane.

One of the common mistakes players make against Quinn is not respecting her passive, Harrier: "Valor, Quinn's Demacian eagle, periodically marks enemies as Vulnerable. Quinn's first basic attack against Vulnerable targets will deal bonus physical damage."

Put simply, if Quinn lands her mark on you and you try to fight her, you'll be handing her a free advantage. If you're marked as Vulnerable, you need to deny her from hitting you, whether by backing off, flashing or using an ability that blocks her damage.

In the early levels, Quinn's W, Heighted Senses, has an extremely long cooldown (nearly a minute!). If she misuses it, punish her for this critical mistake.

Illaoi, the Kraken Priestess

llaoi the Kraken Priestess might not have the hefty early damage that Darius has, nor Tryndamere’s split pushing capability, but her tentacles alone are enough to drive you mad and literally destroy your spirit. Instead of farming and trading, you’re left having to spend most of lane dodging and killing spawning tentacles, avoiding her E ability, and running away.

Illaoi turns the lane into her own personal playground and forces you to play by her rules. She even forces you to suffer through this ordeal alone. Once she hits level 6, her ultimate transforms her into a 1v5 kraken-like beast. If your jungler attempts to gank you, and she has her ultimate, it’s almost a given that she’s the one who’s going to come out on top.

Illaoi Counter Tips

Ranged champions with great poke ability are the best picks against Illaoi, as well as those with high mobility. With high mobility, dodging Illaoi’s tentacles will be a breeze (well, almost!), and you’ll also be able to disengage if a trade ends up not being in your favor.

Illaoi is weakest before level 3, so try to deal as much damage to her as possible during this period. Keep in mind Illaoi will usually try to stack her tentacles in lane before the minions have spawned. Make sure to kill them, as if she has barely any spawned tentacles she’ll be even weaker, giving you a greater chance of coming out on top in those early level trades. Of course, remember to kill as many of Illaoi's tentacles as possible throughout the game, not just at the start. The less tentacles spawned, the less pressure she has.

Unless it's a poor matchup, engage on Illaoi or make an aggressive trade if she misses her E (Test of Spirit) – it has a long cooldown, and without it she will struggle to deal damage to you.

Similar to Darius, Illaoi lacks mobility, making her susceptible to ganks if she hasn’t hit level 6.

If you’re playing a champion without crowd control, it goes without saying you should play around her ultimate and retreat immediately once she uses it. If you stay in it, we guarantee you won’t be walking out of it alive.

Conclusion

These top laners are frustrating to play against, and can feel unbeatable, but it is possible to play around them. While we've covered some quick counter tips here, there are plenty more guides online which can help you out further. In fact, our blog has plenty of helpful champion-specific guides, so make sure to have a browse.