Olaf wins by sticking to a target through slows and crowd control while Ragnarok prevents traditional peel from stopping him. Counter him by creating distance before the ultimate starts, using terrain and movement instead of relying only on hard CC, and turning after Ragnarok ends.
Quick Counter
Best counter type: Pre-ultimate spacing, kiting, terrain, anti-heal when needed, and post-Ragnarok punishment
Biggest danger: Letting him activate Ragnarok already within melee range of a carry
Best defensive response: Create distance early and use movement or terrain rather than relying only on crowd control
Best punish window: After Ragnarok ends or when Undertow misses and he cannot maintain chase distance
Fight plan: Keep him out before the ultimate, kite through the immunity window, then layer crowd control and burst as soon as Ragnarok ends.
What Olaf wants
To begin Ragnarok already close enough that a carry cannot create distance.
Repeated Undertow hits that keep the chase going.
Opponents who waste their strongest crowd control during his immunity window.
Low-health extended fights where his attack speed and sustain become more valuable.
How to beat Olaf
The best time to create distance is before Ragnarok begins. Once Olaf is already on top of a carry, conventional peel loses much of its value.
Do not dump important hard crowd control into the immunity window unless it serves another purpose. Save it for the instant Ragnarok ends.
Sidestep Undertow and move away from the axe path when possible. Repeated pickups are part of how he maintains chase pressure.
Use anti-heal if his sustain is materially deciding extended fights, especially when he is surviving at low health.
Best counter tools
Movement speed, dashes, and terrain that create distance without relying on crowd control.
Crowd control saved specifically for the moment Ragnarok ends.
Burst after his immunity window rather than during it.
Anti-heal when low-health sustain is materially extending his chase.
Power spikes
Early: His all-in becomes dangerous quickly if repeated Undertow hits let him maintain contact.
Mid: Ragnarok makes traditional peel unreliable and creates strong dive windows onto carries.
Late: He remains dangerous if he reaches the backline, but Stasis, better spacing, and post-ultimate crowd control create more counterplay.
Key abilities to track
Ragnarok: This removes the value of normal crowd-control peel during the active window. Your plan should shift from stopping Olaf to creating distance until the immunity ends.
Undertow: Repeated axe hits and pickups keep the chase alive. Dodging the slow or forcing him away from the axe reduces his ability to stick.
Best items into Olaf
Stasis Enchant: Can buy critical time while Ragnarok is active and force Olaf to wait instead of dealing uninterrupted melee damage.
Mortal Reminder: A strong physical anti-heal option when his sustain is becoming a real problem.
Morellonomicon: A practical magic anti-heal route for casters when healing is meaningfully extending his uptime.
Common mistakes
Waiting until Ragnarok is active and Olaf is already in melee range before trying to create distance.
Throwing every hard crowd-control spell into his immunity window.
Running along the same line as repeated Undertow axes.
Ignoring anti-heal when sustain is clearly why he survives.
Fight them in this order
1. Keep enough distance that Olaf must spend time reaching the carry before Ragnarok starts.
2. When the ultimate activates, kite with movement and terrain instead of wasting crowd control.
3. Use Stasis or other time-buying tools if he reaches the target.
4. As soon as Ragnarok ends, layer crowd control and burst before he can disengage.