Ekko counters (Mid)

Common role: Mid / Jungle

The best counter to Ekko in Mid is Vladimir: 53.4% win rate over 1,245 ranked games on patch 26.21.

An AP assassin who rewinds time to undo a bad fight and burst you down.

What makes Ekko dangerous

Ekko slows and stuns with his Q and W, dashes with his E, and his ultimate rewinds him a few seconds back to a shadow — healing him and dealing a huge burst. If he plays aggressively and it goes wrong, his ult undoes it, making him very forgiving and slippery.

How to counter Ekko

• 1Bait out his ultimate — after he uses it he has no escape or reset for a while. Punish him hard in that window.
• 2Dodge his W (a delayed stun zone) — it's the setup for his all-in. Move out of the circle before it detonates.
• 3He's cooldown-reliant and squishy. Hard CC before he can E away catches him mid-combo.
• 4Track his roams — Ekko's speed and mobility let him gank other lanes. Ward and follow, and MR survives his burst.

What are Ekko's weaknesses?

• ✓Punishable window after his ultimate is used.
• ✓W stun is a dodgeable delayed zone.
• ✓Squishy — hard CC and burst delete him.
• ✓Weak early before he snowballs and gets items.

Abilities & how to counter them

What each of Ekko's abilities does — and how to play around it.

• P
  Z-Drive Resonance

  Every third attack or damaging spell on the same target deals bonus magic damage, and grants Ekko a burst of speed if the target is a champion.

• Q
  Timewinder

  Ekko throws a temporal grenade that expands into a time-distortion field upon hitting an enemy champion, slowing and damaging anyone caught inside. After a delay, the grenade rewinds back to Ekko, dealing damage on its return.

• W
  Parallel Convergence

  Ekko's basic attacks deal bonus magic damage to low health enemies. He can cast Parallel Convergence to split the timeline, creating an anomaly after a few seconds that slows enemies caught inside. If Ekko enters the anomaly, he gains shielding and stuns enemies by suspending them in time.

  Strong: a delayed zone that stuns — the setup for his all-in. Weak: move out of the circle before it detonates and his combo has no lockdown.

• E
  Phase Dive

  Ekko rolls evasively while charging up his Z-Drive. His next attack deals bonus damage and warps reality, teleporting him to his target.

• R
  Chronobreak

  Ekko shatters his timeline, becoming untargetable and rewinding to a more favorable point in time. He returns to whenever he was a few seconds ago, and heals for a percentage of the damage received in that duration. Enemies near his arrival zone take massive damage.

  Strong: rewinds him to a shadow, healing and dealing huge burst — undoes a bad dive. Weak: after it he has no escape or reset — bait it out, then punish him hard.

Itemization

Ekko is AP burst. Magic resist (Mercury's Treads, an MR item) and a Zhonya's/Banshee's answer him, and baiting his ultimate removes his safety. Track his roams with vision.

This guide covers Ekko's core kit and playstyle — advice that holds up across patches.