Phantom Lancer vs Sniper

How this matchup plays

Drafting Sniper means you are betting the enemy team won't pick Phantom Lancer. Sniper needs to keep his distance to be effective, but Phantom Lancer's Phantom Rush lets him close that gap instantly. Once PL is on him, the fight is almost over. Sniper lacks a reliable escape and can't handle the swarm of illusions that quickly build up around him. Any attempt to burst PL down, like with Assassinate, can be avoided with a well-timed Doppelganger, leaving Sniper completely helpless as he gets surrounded.

This dynamic defines the whole game. After the laning stage, Sniper is a marked target. Teamfights become a simple game of Phantom Lancer hunting for the back lines, often ignoring the frontline to get to his primary kill. The Sniper is forced to build specifically to handle illusions, which often delays his core damage items and still might not be enough. He has to rely entirely on his teammates for protection and perfect positioning, because he has no tools to deal with a PL who decides to jump him.