Ekko vs Locke Counter Pick

The two champions share a striking amount of the same statline: 655 starting health, 32 armor, 32 magic resist, 58 attack damage, 125 attack range and 340 move speed, both spending mana. On paper the jungle matchup should be a coin flip. In practice Ekko takes 58.7% of 1,321 games on patch 16.13.1, and the record is large enough to trust.

The divergence appears in scaling and damage type. Locke reaches 2,508 health at level 18 against 2,338 and is classified as physical, while Silver Stake adds on-hit magic damage that grows with the target’s missing health. Soul Ignition costs him health up front in exchange for attack speed and move speed, returning a portion at the end of the duration, which creates a visible stretch where his effective health is lowest.

Ekko’s kit exploits that stretch. Z-Drive Resonance rewards a third hit on the same target, Timewinder applies its slow again as the grenade travels back, and Phase Dive teleports him onto an enemy he has already committed against. Chronobreak matters most against an ultimate like Purgatory, which can execute outright: rewinding to an earlier position and health total invalidates the setup Locke spent his cooldowns assembling. Ashen Pursuit teleports him before dashing onto his next target, an engage as direct as Phase Dive, and Ritual Nails mark whoever they hit so his following attacks land harder. Difficulty ratings are 8 and 5.