Dark Willow vs Phantom Lancer

How this matchup plays

Trying to pin down Phantom Lancer is a deeply frustrating experience for Dark Willow. Her primary lockdown, Cursed Crown, can be easily dodged or dispelled by Doppelganger, which simultaneously clutters the screen with more illusions. This swarm of copies soaks up all the damage from Bedlam, making it almost useless against him. Shadow Realm offers a brief moment of safety, but a patient PL can simply wait for it to end. The very single-target control that makes her a great ally for a Phantom Lancer becomes her biggest weakness when playing against him.

While Dark Willow can hold her own during the laning stage, the game changes dramatically once Phantom Lancer starts creating illusions reliably. He can actively hunt her across the map, and she has almost no way to fight back alone. Her game plan shifts to survival, sticking close to teammates with strong area-of-effect abilities who can deal with the illusion spam. She's then reliant on landing a clutch Terrorize to scatter his army, hoping her team can find and kill the real Phantom Lancer in the chaos.