Earthshaker vs Timbersaw

How this matchup plays

Picking Timbersaw when Earthshaker is still on the board is a serious gamble, because Timbersaw's survivability relies entirely on being able to cast spells and move. Earthshaker completely shuts this down. A long-range Fissure can trap Timbersaw and set up a chain of stuns, preventing him from using Timber Chain to escape or building up his Reactive Armor. While Timbersaw is designed to be a durable front-liner who thrives in long fights, Earthshaker's lockdown is so consistent and long that it gives a team all the time they need to burst him down before he can react.

This dynamic forces Timbersaw to play passively all game. He can't dive aggressively if Earthshaker has spells off cooldown, effectively neutralizing his main purpose. Meanwhile, Earthshaker can use Fissure to split fights and isolate Timbersaw from his team, or punish him for standing near creep waves with Echo Slam. To have any impact, Timbersaw must wait for Earthshaker to commit his spells elsewhere, but a good Earthshaker player will often hold them specifically for him, dictating the flow of every teamfight.